THE ANCESTOR
A Quarterly Review of County and
Family History, Heraldry
and Antiquities
EDITED BY
OSWALD BARRON F.S.A
NUMBER VIII
JANUART 1904
ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE & CO LTD
2 WHITEHALL GARDENS
WESTMINSTER S.W
cs
MO
At
THE pages ot the ANCESTOR will be open
to correspondence dealing with matters
within the scope of the review.
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will be given, as far as may be possible,
upon all points relating to the subjects
with which the ANCESTOR is concerned.
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All literary communications should be
addressed to
THE EDITOR OF THE ANCESTOR
2 WHITEHALL GARDENS
WESTMINSTER S.W
1130186
CONTENTS
THE ANGELO FAMILY. . . . REV. CHARLES SWYWNERTON I
OUR OLDEST FAMILIES : X. THE BERKLEYS . THE EDITOR 73
HUMPHREY CHETHAM ....... W. H. B. BIRD 82
THE BARONS' LETTER TO THE POPE : III. THE SEALS
THE EDITOR 100
THE VANDEPUT FAMILY . . . . N. E. T. BOSANQUET no
ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON ......... 112
HERALDS' COLLEGE AND PRESCRIPTION
W. PALEY BAILDON, F.S.A. 113
EARLY FOURTEENTH CENTURY COSTUME . THE EDITOR 145
CASES FROM THE EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS
EXUL 167
NOTES ON TWO NEVILL SHIELDS AT SALISBURY
REV. E. E. DORLING 202
WHAT IS BELIEVED .............. 205
A MONTAGU SHIELD AT HAZELBURY BRYAN
REV. E. E. DORLING 215
EDITORIAL NOTES ............... 218
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 222
The Copyright of all the Articles and Illustrations
in this Review is strictly reserved
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGt
CATHERINE ANGELO Frontispiece
DOMENICK ANGELO AS A 'FENCER' 12
DOMKNICK ANGELO AS AN OLD MAN 14
ELIZABETH, WIFE OF DOMENICK ANGELO op. 16
ELIZABETH, WIFE OF DOMENICK ANGELO „ 1 8
HENRY ANGELO AS A Boy „ 2Z
HENRY ANGELO I. AS A ' FENCER ' „ 26
GENERAL WILLIAM ST. LEGER) •
\ » 34
JOHN ANGELO OF EDINBURGH J
ANN CAROLINE ANGELO ... .1
FLORELLA SOPHIA ANGELO OF ETON J
MARIE DUBOURGH, WIFE OF JOHN ANGELO ~|
MARTHA BLAND, WIFE OF ANTHONY ANGELO J
MRS. JANE BLAND, MOTHER OF MRS. ANTHONY ANGELO . . „ 68
MRS. RICHARD ANGELO . . . "v
LOUISA OLDFIELD ANGELO V „ 70
COLONEL RICHARD FISHER ANGELOJ
SEALS OF THE BARONS' LETTER. Five plates „ 1 00-8
ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON, FROM A CARVING „ 112
ILLUSTRATIONS OF EARLY XIV. CENTURY COSTUME. Ten plates . ,,148-66
NEVILL SHIELDS FROM GLASS AT SALISBURY „ zoz
MONTAGU SHIELD FROM GLASS AT HAZELBURY BRYAN 216
CATHERINE ANGELO. WIFE OF «ARK DRURY
[ Sir- Jnshu* Tt.ynoLJ. 1
THE ANGELO FAMILY
MAN •> told of the families of the emigres
.;land from France and Italy during
the latter half of the eighteenth century, but few exceed in
inn the Angelo family. They were Italians. Their
.iame however was not Angelo, but Tremamondo. It is
a name suggestive of long descent and the deadly shock of
volcanic forces ; it means a tremor of the world ; it implies
some sort of universal earthquake. A md ar-
morial bearings, wl theirs
by : t:ou c< ade§u'
sar
lile ...<;' ; : ' •.<••••
>ig 4 motrar
motto, adapted from s vent im*, n
1'remat mundxi. TtiMiK>mirT' ' htmim wuuid probably be
ad to be the name ot a .tsy locality
the volcanic province of Naples, from which the far
originally came, and the earliest form of the personal name
was doubtless not ' Tremamondo,' but ' di Tremamondo.'
Yet whatever their antiquity, whatever their origin in the long-
vanished past, whether or not, as alleged by them, descended
from one of the Pagani, followers or Tancred in the Holy
Wars, in the more recent times of the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries this family, like many other families of
noble origin, had become identified with the trading an i com-
mercial classes, so that now, I under ?t. :ia-
mondo U not to be found <• ry.
And the earliest member of the N>
'ehr aftc •:> have bcr
us of that fact, because when he first -be
highly conventional w George
(lory of his fame : * a mttdtkm
\ppears to have bee patro-
ind to have used by preference that of his mot
who WAS a Malevolti. Thus in his man
as Donunico Angek Malevoltt. Again his »
he record of his baptism, is ttated t > be son to
THE ANGELO FAMILY
MANY are the stories told of the families of the emigrh
who flocked into England from France and Italy during
the latter half of the eighteenth century, but few exceed in
interest that of the Angelo family. They were Italians. Their
surname however was not Angelo, but Tremamondo. It is
a name suggestive of long descent and the deadly shock of
volcanic forces ; it means a tremor of the world ; it implies
some sort of universal earthquake. And their motto and ar-
morial bearings, whether theirs by long inheritance, or theirs
by the invention of some modern genealogist, carry out the
same idea, being quite in the manner of the ' canting heraldry '
of old time. In direct allusion to the name Tremamondo the
shield is azure with a thunderbolt striking a mountain, and the
motto, ingeniously adapted from a verse in the Psalms, is
Tremat mundus. ' Tremamondo ' however would probably be
found to be the name of a more than ordinarily uneasy locality
in the volcanic province of Naples, from which the family
originally came, and the earliest form of the personal name
was doubtless not c Tremamondo,' but ' di Tremamondo.'
Yet whatever their antiquity, whatever their origin in the long-
vanished past, whether or not, as alleged by them, descended
from one of the Pagani, followers of Tancred in the Holy
Wars, in the more recent times of the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries this family, like many other families of
noble origin, had become identified with the trading and com-
mercial classes, so that now, I understand, the name Trema-
mondo is not to be found on any existing roll of Italian nobility.
And the earliest member of the family to settle in England, in
or immediately after the year 1753, seems to have been fully
conscious of that fact, because when he first burst upon the
highly conventional world of George II. 's reign, in all the
glory of his fame and skill as a matchless fencer and rider,
he appears to have been curiously oblivious of his own patro-
nymic, and to have used by preference that of his mother
who was a Malevolti. Thus in his marriage register he is
entered as Domenico Angelo Malevolti. Again his son Henry,
in the record of his baptism, is stated to be son to Angelo
2 THE ANCESTOR
Domenico Malevolti. And later on, when he was one of the
best known men in London, the inscription engraved on the
three-bottle silver goblet which was given to him by Garrick was
— Pegno d"amicizia di David Garrick al suo amico Angela Male-
volti.1 Even in his son's account of him he figures gloriously
as Dominica Angela Malevolti Tremamondo? But a different story
presents itself when we turn to the Rate Books of St. James',
Westminster, and of St. Ann's, Soho. In those formal
business documents the name Malevolti does not come in at all.
In them he is entered as Dominica Angela Tremamondo, or else as
Domenick Angela merely. Again, when he witnesses his daughter
Caroline's marriage in 1785, he writes his own name D. Angela
Tremamondo. Yet again, when witnessing the marriage register
of his daughter Catherine in 1790, he writes the simple name
Dom" Angela. In the midst of all this confusion we are driven
to his own baptismal register in the cathedral church of Leg-
horn, where the secret is disclosed, and we find that his full,
true, and undoubted name was Angiolo Domenico Maria Trema-
mondo. Such a tremendous name as this however was found
to be quite unmanageable. So, for practical purposes,
acting also under the advice of Lord Pembroke, and others ot
his patrons, he gradually, as the records prove, discarded both
the names Malevolti and Tremamondo, and fell back on his
first Christian name Angelo as a convenient and suitable sur-
name. Hence ' Angelo,' standing severely alone, is the one
name appended to the dedication of his superb volume on the
art of fencing, and hence also among the public generally from
King George III. down to the humblest stable-boy in his
manage, Angelo is the name by which he and his brethren were
known then, and the name by which they and their de-
scendants are known at the present day.
I. ANGIOLO, or ANGELO DOMENICK MARIA TREMA-
MONDO was the son of a prosperous merchant of the Via
Giardino in Leghorn, having been the eldest of six brothers
born in that city to James Tremamondo and Catherine Angiola
Malevolti his wife, a daughter of Nicolas Malevolti of the
same place. Evidently he derived his first Christian name
Angelo from his mother, as he derived his second (Domenico)
from his grandfather and his third (Maria) from his godfather,
and from his mother therefore came also that surname Angelo
1 Henry Angelo's Reminitcences, 1828. * Ibid.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 3
which is now the common property of all his descendants both
direct and collateral. He was born on 6 February, 1717, and
baptized in the cathedral church the next day. His father
James Tremamondo was a native and a citizen of Foggia in
the kingdom of Naples and a son of Domenick Tremamondo
of the same city and province. His godfather was Francis
Maria Lorenzi.1 His younger brothers, five in number, were
Francis Xavier, born 4 December, 1720; Joseph, born 13
November, 1721 ; John Xavier, born 22 September, 1723 ;
Leonard Maria, born 6 September, 1725 ; and Sante Gaetano,
born i November, 1732. There were also several sisters, of
whom one, Santa Catherina, ultimately became the superior of a
convent in or near Florence.3 An inspection of the registers
given below indicates that, of the brothers, one, Joseph, died
on the day of his birth, because he was hurriedly baptized the
same day, his sponsor being apparently the surgeon in attend-
ance, the 'Excellent Signer Doctor John Batta Gameno.' It
is also more than likely that as Santa Catherina became a nun,
so Sante Gaetano was destined for and became a priest or a
monk. I shall also give reason presently for suspecting that
John Xavier the fourth son died before the descent of the
Angelos on England, and that the second son, Francis Xavier,
coming to England, assumed the name John in lieu of his own,
Francis. There would remain therefore only three brothers to
account for. All these three, namely Angelo Domenick of
whom we are now treating, John Xavier, and Leonard Maria,
ultimately found their way to England.
In view of the claim of the family that they are descendants
of the Malevolti through Catherine Angela Malevolti, it may
be well to say here a few words upon that illustrious stock.
According to some authorities ' the most noble family of
Malavolti ' was by origin French, and came to Italy with
Charlemagne. Others say that they were originally Bolognese,
adding that between Bologna and the Appennines there is a
place very delicious called Malavolti, and that in the churches
of St. Domenick and St. Francis in Bologna are many monu-
ments of the Malavolti. But Gigli argues that the Mala-
volti were in Sienna before the others were in existence, and
that therefore either there were two families, or a member of
the Malavolti went and settled in Bologna. He also states
1 See infra.
* Angclo's Reminiictnces and Family Traditions.
4 THE ANCESTOR
that the family had their habitation in a gloomy valley near
Sienna, full of robbers, and so called Malavolti. Noble
Frenchmen were on guard there, and five castles were
erected which were also called Malavolti, and the hill too
began to be called // Poggio di Malavolti, retaining that name
to the present day. They made of themselves an illustrious
family which in time rose to great power and wealth. ' Furono
le mitre, e i grandi militari, e togati quasi domestici nella
schiatta de' Malavolti.' They divided into three branches,
first the Malavolti Orlandi, next the Malavolti Egidei or
Gigliensi, so called from having built a church in that
region to St. Egidius,1 and thirdly, Malavolti Fortebracci,
who on account of the castle of Selvoli which they captured
were called Selvolesi. In Sienna the Malavolti had three
castles and a magnificent loggia."
So much for the Malevolti family. To return to Domenick
Angelo — the following evidences from the Leghorn Cathedral
constitute our earliest notices of the Tremamondos : —
(i) MARRIAGE
PARROCHIA DELLA CATTEDRALE.
Livorno, 7 Luglio, 1899.
Attesto io sottoscritto Parroco della Chiesa Cattedrale che dai Registri di
Matrimonio apparisce come il di 3 Decembre, 1713, contrassero il S. Matri-
monio in Fade Ecclesia, Jacopo d[i] Domenico Tremamondi di Foggia g[ia]
m[orto] dimorante con Caterina Angela d' g[ia] m[orto] Niccolo Malevolti di
Livorno essendo present! e testimoni Andrea di Domenico Cerboni di Lucca
e Ippolito di Luca Sperandio di Livorno.
In fede, etc.
Translation : —
PARISH OF THE CATHEDRAL.
Leghorn, 7 July, 1 899.
I the undersigned parish priest of the Cathedral Church attest that by the
registers of marriage it appears that on the 3 December, 1713, there con-
tracted Holy Matrimony in the face of the church, James, son of Domenick
Tremamondi of Foggia, a late deceased resident, with Catherine Angela,
1 Giles.
8 Gigli's Diane Sanese (1723), »• H7~54' There is also a long account
of the achievements of this family in the Gdleria del I'Onore, Forli, 1735.
But for the fixed idea in the Angelo family that there is a missing Tretnamonde
marquisate somewhere in the kingdom of Naples, I should feel inclined to
trace the tradition rather to their alleged descent from the Malevolti.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 5
daughter of the late Nicolas Malevolti of Leghorn, present and witnesses
being Andrew son of Domenick Cerboni of Lucca and Ippolito son of Luke
Sperandio of Leghorn.
In fede, etc.
Archivio della Cattedrale di Livorno.
SAC VITTORIO PHILIPPO CAPPI" C°.
(2) SIX BAPTISMS
Livorno a di 3 di Magzio, 1899.
Attestasi da me infr.*0 Parroco della Cattedrale che dal Libro del Battez-
zati dell'Anno 1717 resulta che il di 6 Febhaio, 1717, nacque Angiolo
Domenico Maria d' Giacomo d' Domenico Tremamondi d' Foggia Regno d'
Napoli e d' Da Lattno Angiola d. g. m. Niccolo Malevolti d* Livomi emuz,
fu Battezzato il di 7 Febhaio, 1 7 1 7, e fu compare Francesco M" Lorenzi.
In fede di ec.
Archivio della Cattedrale di Livorno.
Livorno a di 13 di Maggio, 1899.
Attestasi da me infr.10 Parroco della Cattedrale che dal Libro dei Battez-
zati dell'Anno 1720 resulta che il di 4 Decembre, 1720, nacque Franco
Xaverio d' Giacomo g.m. Domenico Tremamondo e d' Cat* Angelo g.m.
Niccolo Manivolti coniugi fu Battezzato il di 5 Xmbre, 1720, e fu compare
Giovanni Simondri.
In fede di ec.
Archivio della Cattedrale di Livorno.
JAC ABDAN BONFIGLIOLI,
Ve Parroco.
Livorno a di 1 3 di Maggio, 1 899.
Attestasi da me infr.' Parroco della Cattedrale che dal Libro dei Battezzati
dell'Anno 1721 resulta che il di 13 Novembre, 1721, nacque Guiseppe d'
Giacomo g.m. Domenico Tremamondo e d' Cat" Ang* g.m. Niccolo Malevolti
coniugi fu Battezzato il di 13 Nov. 1721, e fu compare Ecc* Sig. Dott. Gio.
Batta Gameno.
In fede di ec.
Archivio della Cattedrale di Livorno.
JAC ABDAN BONPIGLIOLI,
V6 Parroco.
Livorno a di 13 di Maggio, 1899.
Attestasi da me infr.'0 Parroco della Cattedrale che dal Libro dei Battezzati
dell'Anno 1723 resulta che il di 22 Settembre, 1723, nacque Gio. Xaverio d'
Giacomo g.m. Domco Tremamondo e d' Cat0 Angelo g.m. Niccolo Malevolti
coniugi fu Battezzato il di 23 Sett., 1723, e fu compare O. Moriondi.
In fede di ec.
Archivio della Cattedrale di Livorno.
JAC ABDAN BONFIGLIOLI,
V Parroco.
6 THE ANCESTOR
Livorno a di 13 di Maggio, 1899.
Attestasi da me infr.to Parroco della Cattedrale che dal Libro del Battezzati
dell' Anno 1727 resulta che il di 6 Settembre, 1725, nacque Leonardo
Ma d' Giacomo g.m. Domenico Trema Mondo e d' Cat3 Angla g.m. Niccolo
Manevolti coniugi fa Battczzato il di 9 Sett., 1725, e fu compare Leonaldo
Cemmellini.
In fede di ec.
Archivio della Cattedrale di Livorno.
JAC ABDAN BONFIGLIOLI,
Vc Parroco.
Livorno a di 13 di Maggio, 1899.
Attestasi da me infr.M Parroco della Cattedrale che dal Libro dei Battezzati
dell' Anno, 1732, resulta che il di I Novembre, 1732, nacque Sand Gaetano
d' Giacomo g.m. Domenico Tremamondo e di Caterina Angiola g.m. Niccolo
Manevolti coniugi fu Battezzato il di 2 grnbre, 1723, e fu compare Carlo
Piccario.
In fede di ec.
Archivio della Cattedrale di Livorno.
JAC ABDAN BONFIGLIOLI,
Ve Parroco.
These evidences afford the following descent : —
PEDIGREE I.
Domenick Tremamondo=Wife
of Foggia
James Tremamondo=Catherine Angela
of Foggia and then I d. ofJNicolaa Maleyolti
of Leghorn I of Leghorn, married 1713
Angelo Domenick Maria,
T
Francis Xavier,
Joseph, John Xavier,
b. 1717
b. 1720
b. 1721 b. 1723
(d. ,72.)
1
1
Leonard Maria,
Sante Gaetano,
b. 1725
b. 1732. Probably
a priest
The three members of this family who afterwards visited
England, but especially the eldest, Angelo Domenick, became
widely celebrated as masters in the arts of both riding and
fencing. Of such exceptional skill as was theirs the founda-
tions surely must have been laid very early in life, and it is a
fair hypothesis to assume that from boyhood they were placed
in the hands of capable instructors. In point of fact there
THE ANGELO FAMILY 7
was then living in Leghorn the very man for the purpose.
This was Andrew Gianbaldoni of Pisa, renowned as a fencing
master, who kept a fencing school at Leghorn, at which city
his far more famous son Joseph, whose tragic fate at Lyons
aroused the sympathy of all Europe, was born on 6 January,
1739. Under Gianbaldoni we can imagine the 'Angelo'
brothers gradually acquiring some of the marvellous power
which afterwards distinguished them, and when they had
qualified in Gianbaldoni's school we can imagine them going
forth on their travels to other centres famous for other maltres d"
escrime. Domenick certainly did so, as we learn from his son's
Reminiscences. He visited various capitals, probably Florence,
Turin, Milan, Naples and Rome, and he lived for a time at
Venice, where, having also studied painting himself,1 he was inti-
mate with Canaletto. At the age of twenty-seven, or thereabouts,
he came to Paris,1 where he is said to have spent ten years
in close study of the art of fence under various masters
of the Academic, but especially the elder Teillagory, with
whom also he constantly rode in the manage. That master
was one of the most celebrated swordsmen of the age. He
was likewise the most scientific horseman in Europe, and
occupied as prominent a place in the Manage Royal as he did
in the Academic d ' Armes? In better hands for both riding
and fencing the ' Angelos ' (for I believe the brothers kept
together) could not have been. There also Domenick became
a protege of the Duke de Nivernais, that amiable and cour-
teous nobleman who subsequently visited this country at the
close of the Seven Years' War in the character of Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from His Most Christian
Majesty Louis XV.4
From Paris ' Domenick Angelo ' passed on to London,
where he founded that celebrated family of masters which
made the ' Angelo School of Arms ' a household word among
men of fashion in the days of our grandsires.5 It is not my
intention however to make mention of all the recorded
episodes which distinguished the career of the elder Angelo,
as he came to be called. For them the reader should consult
his son Henry's Reminiscences, Angela's Pic-nic, the Dictionary of
' My father imbibed an early penchant for the fine arts, particularly for
painting ' (H. A.'s Reminiscences).
3 Circa 1743. * History of the Stoord.
* Austin Dobson in Longman's, * History of the Stoord.
8 THE ANCESTOR
National Biography, and articles in various magazines, includ-
ing the Parish Magazine of St. Anne's, Soho, For March and
April, 1902. The more important passages in his life how-
ever will bear re-stating, and of all stories connected with him
there is not one more characteristic perhaps of the man, and
not one certainly more characteristic of the age, than the
account which his son Henry has preserved to us of the
romantic accident which took from Paris and gave to London
his interesting personality. The occasion was a public assault
of arms at one of the great bfoels of the pre-revolutionary
Paris, in which 'Angelo,' with his tall straight figure1 and
winning address, took a conspicuous part. Among the guests
assembled sat Mrs. Margaret Woffington, then at the zenith
of her beauty and fame as woman and actress. Her dis-
criminating fancy was caught by the graceful person not less
than by the skill of the handsome Italian, and she fell in love
with him. Stepping forward, she gave him a bunch of roses,
which she detached from her own bosom, and which Angelo
gaily pinned on his left breast, declaring that he would defend
it against a world in arms. He justified his statement, for in
no encounter was a petal disturbed, and when the assault
closed he received the reward said to belong only to the
brave — the smile of fair lady. It was the turning point in
his career. Peg Woffington induced him to try his fortunes
in London. They drove in the same coach together to the
coast, victrix and vanquished, and crossed in the same vessel
to England. After a brief stay in London they visited Dublin,
where Angelo formed a friendship with the Sheridans, and
where he also met Arthur Murphy the dramatist. Thence
in due time they returned to London and there lived, re-
maining fast friends for two years, at the end of which period
' Angelo ' married.
It was to Peg Woffington herself, one of the most gener-
ous and unselfish of women, that Domenick Angelo was in-
debted for his wife. The story has been often told. The
two, Angelo and Mrs. Woffington, were together one evening
at the play, when Angelo's attention was directed to a young
Irish lady* sitting with her mother in a neighbouring box.
1 ' My father (at Court), as I have heard, went by the title of Chevalier
Perpendicular ' (Reminiscences).
a ' My mother was a native of that dear little island ' (Angtlo'i Pic-nie,
P- *93)-
THE ANGELO FAMILY 9
' She has the face of an angel ! ' said Mrs. Woffington, who
appears to have known her before, and who advised the ardent
Italian to pay court to and to marry her. Fortune smiled on
him, and his suit was successful. The lady was very young,
not more than seventeen, her name was Elizabeth Johnson,
and she was a step-daughter of a Captain Master of the
Royal Navy, then deceased, who had once been in command
of the Chester.1 They were married on 25 February, 1755,
by archbishop's licence, at St. George's, Hanover Square, and
the following is a copy of the marriage entry : —
MARRIAGE. — Domenick Angelo Malevolti, Esqr., of this Parish, Batchelor,
and Elizabeth Johnson, Spinster, a Minor of this parish, by and with the
consent of Elizabeth Master, formerly Johnson, wid : the natural and lawful
mother of the said Elizabeth, the Minor, were married in this Church by
Licence of the Archbishop of Canterbury this twenty-fourth day of February,
in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and fifty-five, by me James
Trebeck, A.M. Clerk in Orders.
This marriage was solemnized ) DOMENICO ANCELO MALEVOLTI.
between us J ELIZ™. JOHNSON.
In the presence of
ELI™. JOHNSON.
J. MORRIS.*
Elizabeth Johnson was one of the beauties of the time,
and in 1760, when she was twenty-two, her picture was
painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds.3 This picture remained
with her descendants till recently, when it found its way to
Christie's, where for £800 it fell into the hands of a Mr.
Yerkes, an American, who took it to New York.
Elizabeth Johnson's father was probably a naval officer
like her step-father, and she is said to have been related to
Admiral Byng. ' All my mother's relations,' says her son
Henry in his Reminiscences, ' were brought up to the sea, and,
from her information, she was related to Admiral Byng.'
The following brief pedigree (which however I have not
verified) might afford the clue to the exact relationship, and it
will be observed that, curiously enough, both her father's
name, ' Johnson,' and her step-father's name, ' Master,' occur
in it : —
1 Henry Angelo's Reminiscences.
» John Morris, a friend of the Masters, and a distinguished naval omcer,
who, when in commend of the Bristol, was mortally wounded in the unsuc-
cessful attack on Sullivan's Island, off Charlestown, on 28 June, 1776. His
son was the more famous Vice-Admiral Sir James Nicoll Morris (D.N.B.)
1 Leslie and Taylor's Life and Times of Sir Joshua Reynolds.
io THE ANCESTOR
PEDIGREE 2.
John Byng of= Philadelphia Johnion
Wrotham, I d. of — Johnson of Loam, Surrey,
Kent I and lister of Colonel Johnion
lit Viscount Torrington = Margaret
(George Byng),
1663-1733
d. of Jamel Mailer
of East Langdon,
Kent, d. 1756
Admiral Byng
[John), 4th son
In this connection the following extract is also curious :
1 DEATH. Mrs. Masters, Ann, aet. 8 6, Aunt to Admiral Byng '
(G.M. for 1757, p. I69).1
On the off-chance that here we have Elizabeth Johnson's
father and mother, the following note of a marriage may be
also recorded for future inquiry : * Richard Johnson and
Elizabeth Harvey married at St. George's, Hanover Square,
1728.'
It was as a teacher of the * Art of Equitation,' to adopt
Henry Angelo's description, that Domenick Angelo first
became famous after his descent on England. His success
was marvellously rapid. After a performance in the presence
of George II., that monarch declared that ' Mr. Angelo was
the most elegant rider in Europe.' Among his early patrons
was the Duke of Queensberry, whose friendship he owed to
the Duchess' attachment to his wife, as to which Henry Angelo
writes : ' The Duchess of Queensberry had honoured my
grandmother with her friendly notice for many years, and the
same to my mother from the time she could first lisp her
grace's name.' Of infinitely greater service to him, however,
was the friendship of Henry Herbert, tenth Earl of Pem-
broke, who became warmly attached to him. Lord Pembroke
was then (1754) only nineteen or twenty years of age. He
was a very rising and most zealous officer, devoted to horses,
and a great favourite at Court. He started a private manage
of his own at his house in Whitehall and another close to his
seat of Wilton near Salisbury, and Angelo became his tcuyer.
Angelo's principles he approved, studied, and practised ; he
became his disciple ; 2 and when he assumed command of
1 In the evidences Master and Masters seem to be used interchangeably.
* With Angelo, Pembroke had taken much pains
To keep a good seat and to handle the reins.
(SyuiA of the timt.)
THE ANGELO FAMILY n
Elliot's Light Horse (now the 1 5th Hussars), the crack regi-
ment of the time, he persuaded Angelo to take a house at
Wilton and to undertake the training of a select number of
riding instructors from the regiment. Some of Angelo's
principles he afterwards embodied in his Method of Breaking
Hones (1762), becoming in time quite an authority himself in
the art of riding in the army. It is important to take note of
these facts, namely (i) Angelo's intimacy with Lord Pem-
broke, and (2) Angelo's connection with the British Army.
For a time he was practically Riding Master to the Army,1 and
the principles which he introduced, approved by Lord Pem-
broke, of riding, breaking, and training horses, were those
which were followed throughout the whole of the Cavalry
Service. In connection with this matter it is interesting to
find, as a detail, that Philip Astley, afterwards to be so famous
for his riding in his own amphitheatre, was one of the troopers
who came under Angelo's training at Wilton.
In 1755 Domenick Angelo was described as a resident in
the parish of St. George's, Hanover Square (marriage register).
In 1758 he was the tenant of a house in St. James' Place, parish
of St. James', and the following extract from the Rate Books
of St. James' shows it : —
St. James Place.
1758 | Domenico Angelo2 | II | £30 | £i $t.
The meaning of this mysterious entry is that in 1758 Dom-
enick Angelo had a house in St. James' Place, the rateable
value of which was £30 a year, that he owed for two quarters
C II ')> tne sum due for the two quarters being £i 5*., making
his full rate for the year £2 ios., being is. %d. in the £. If
the rate was levied on five-sixths of his rent, his true rent must
have been £36.
Probably Domenick Angelo did not remain at St. James'
Place more than two years or so. But he could not have re-
mained less, because his son Henry, who was born in 1756,
remembered that when he was not four years old his father
was living at St. James' Place, and that his nurse used to take
1 ' My father,' says Henry, ' had finished some of the first riding masters
for the Cavalry Regiments gratis ' (Reminiscences, ii. 385).
' Domenico ' in Angelo's own handwriting is written on the interleaved
blotting paper.
12 THE ANCESTOR
him to St. James' Church, where on one occasion he startled
the worshippers by untimely patriotic vociferations.1
Meanwhile Domenick Angelo, who must have kept himself
always in practice, had laid himself out as an exponent of the
art of fence, having on a certain notable occasion, duly
recorded by his son, utterly vanquished Dr. Keys, the cham-
pion fencer of Ireland, at the Thatched House. Angelo's first
pupil was the Duke of Devonshire, but presently he was ap-
pointed Fencing Master and Riding Master to the Prince of
Wales, afterwards George III., to Edward Duke of York, and
to the other young princes, with whom he at once became a
great favourite and whose friendship and goodwill he retained
to the end of his life. Suitable premises for both fencing and
riding were provided for him by the Princess Dowager of
Wales in Leicester Fields, within two doors from Hogarth's
house in the east corner." And there he must have taken up
his quarters, probably in 1759 or 1760, as about that time his
name disappears from the Rate Books of St. James'. He soon
acquired so much fame and his clientele became so large that he
now decided to set up an academy of his own. For this pur-
pose he moved to Soho. There he bought from Lord Dela-
val, brother of Foote's patron, the Sir Francis to whom he
dedicated his comedy of Taste, Carlisle House, standing in
King's Square Court (now Carlisle Street).3 It was a spacious
old Caroline mansion of red brick, which had belonged to the
Howard family, containing lofty rooms with enriched ceilings,
a marble-floored hall, and a grand decorated staircase painted
by Salvator's pupil, Henry Cook.4 In this building, in 1763,
its new owner opened his fencing school, and in the garden at
the back he erected stables and a manage which extended to
Wardour Street.8 His house and schools soon became the
resort of all the wealth and rank of London. Here he took
in his boarders, ' young men of fashion,' who paid him each one
hundred guineas a year, and who spent their time in riding,
fencing and dancing, and here he earned his £4,000 a year
which ' he spent like a gentleman.' a Among the famous men
who congregated round him at that period were the two Sheri-
dans, Garrick, Foote, Johnson, Christian Bach, Home Tooke,
Sir Joshua Reynolds, Gainsborough, Zoffany, Canaletto, Zuc-
1 Reminiscences.
5 Longman's, Ap. 1898. * Ibid. * Ibid. "Ibid.
8 Angelo's Reminiscences and History of the StvorJ.
DOMKNICK ANGELO
(Drawn from life bjr Gwjrn and engra«d by Hall for the Ecole da Armes)
13
1 4 THE ANCESTOR
s
carelli, Bartolozzi, Cipriani, General Paoli, the Chevalier
D'Eon, Wilkes, George Stubbs the author of the Anatomy of
the Horse, Sir William Jones, and a host of others of all ranks
and pursuits in life, forming a brilliant company of wits,
politicians, artists and actors, some of whom almost daily met
at his hospitable board.1
In 1763 Angelo published his grand folio in French —
L'Ecote des Armes. It is a magnificent specimen of contem-
porary binding and letter-press, and the engravings are of the
highest possible order. It is dedicated to their Royal High-
nesses, Princes William Henry and Henry Frederic, and the
list of subscribers includes four Royal Highnesses, two Serene
Highnesses, the Duke de Nivernais, Domenick's old Paris
patron, and many of the principal nobility, clergy and gentry
of the day. In his dedication h leurs Altesses Roya/es, Angelo
refers to toutes les bontes dont elles mont toujours honor^ and
humbly and gracefully begs their acceptance of his work.
Speaking of this book, his son Henry declares that his father
was assisted by the best artists of the day — ' two of the en-
gravings in particular,' he says, ' were by Hall who finished
Woolett's plate of General Wolfe, and the others by poor
Ryland who suffered.' And Gwyn, Hall and Ryland are the
names which figure at the foot of the plates. What is more,
Angelo himself stood for the drawings, so that in these en-
gravings we have his presentment exactly as he figured in
fence.8 The originals he presented to His Majesty George
III., ' who graciously received him at Buckingham Palace,
where he was kept in conversation for above an hour, when to
his surprise, being questioned about his coming to England,
he found that the king had been previously acquainted with
his attachment to Mrs. Woffington, and his marriage with my
mother.' 3
One circumstance in the life of Domenick Angelo, usually
passed over, bears directly upon the present paper, and that is
that during the summer vacation of 1765 he visited Turin.
' My father,' writes Henry, ' once received a commission from
the King of Sardinia to send him sixty horses, hunters, and in
1 For many a vivid anecdote relating to Angelo's celebrated guests, con-
sult his son's Reminiscences and his Pic-nic (1828 and 1834).
1 The figure on plate I. he declares was a very faithful likeness of his
father. It has been reproduced for this paper.
3 Angelo's Reminiscences.
DOMIiNICK A.NC.KLO AS AN OLD MAN.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 15
the summer vacation at Eton he came with my mother and
then followed them to Turin. He presented the horses him-
self to the king. The Princess of Carignan admired my
mother's saddle, which she had brought with her, and my
mother requested her acceptance of it.'
The date of this visit is fixed by the fact that when at Paris
on his way to Turin Domenick received a letter from Garrick
bearing date July, i"]6$.1 He must have sent the horses on
by some trustworthy agent — his brother Leonard or his
nephew Anthony, the latter then being eighteen years of age.
From 1763 to 1803, a period of forty years, Domenico
Angelo's name regularly appears in the various Rate Books of
St. Ann's, Soho.
The following selected extracts are of interest : —
St. Ann's Poor Rate — King's Square Court, North (Carlisle St.)
(I) 1764
1770
1790
Domk Angelo
Domk Angelo Tremamondo
Domenick Angelo
i 15 o
3 « i°i
440
By a simple sum in arithmetic his true rent in 1764 and
1770 is seen to be at least £144 and £190 respectively — an
index of his prosperity at that time. But in 1 790 his assessed
rent had sunk to ^52 only, and he was in arrear for the whole
year.
(2) Hair and Powder Tax of 1795 (for the cost of the ' French War ')
Carlisle St., No. 20.
Angelo, Dominico — Housekeeper.
Elizabeth— Wife.
„ Sophia — Daughter.
The rest of his children had married or died. Sophia had
long been a Dame of Eton, and probably only resided occa-
sionally at Carlisle Place.
(3) 1 796 | Watch Rate :—
Dom. Angelo Tremamondo | £95 | £i 3*. gd. \
1 799-00 | Rector's Rate : —
Domenick Angelo | £52 | £o 4*. \d. \
Then comes the following significant entry : —
1803 | Paving Rate : —
Mrs. Angelo undertakes to pay her proportion 2 qrs.
1 Reminiscences, ii. 91-2.
1 6 THE ANCESTOR
In the year 1804 the name of Angelo no longer appears
on the books. The old man had, in fact, died at Eton, pro-
bably at the house of his daughter Sophia : —
1802, July nth. At Eton in his 86th year, Mr. A. (sic) Angelo,
Fencing and Riding Master.1
His will at Somerset House is dated 1 1 May, 1 797, and
it was proved 4 August, 1802. Everything he possessed he
left to his ' dear wife, Elizabeth Angelo,' and he styles himself
' Domenico Angelo Tremamondo, of Carlisle Street, Soho.'
The affidavit was made by ' George Frederick Angelo
Tremamondo of His Royal Highness the Duke of York's
office, Horse Guards, the natural and lawful grandson.'
Domenick's sole witness was Albany Wallis.
Mrs. Angelo, letting her house in Carlisle Place, soon after
moved to Rathbone Place, quite close by, to the north of Soho
Square, and there in Upper Charlotte Street the once beautiful
and genial hostess of King's Square Court breathed her last
only a year or two later : —
1805. January nth. In Rathbone Place, in her 6jth year, Mrs.
Angelo, relict of A. (sic) Angelo, Esq., Fencing Master to
the Royal Family.2
Her quite informal will breathes in every line the gentle
sweetness of her nature. It is dated 13 July, 1802, and the
short codicil 24 May, 1 804. She styles herself ' Elizabeth
Angelo Tremamondo, of Eton, Bucks, and Carlisle Street,
Soho.' To her ' dear daughter Florella Sophia Angelo
Tremamondo' she leaves her estate, 'excepting j£ioo, and
£20 a year from her house in Carlisle Street for her dear
grandson, George Frederick Angelo Tremamondo, and to him
also his grandfather's gold watch,' and ' to his wife Elizabeth a
diamond pin, and his daughter Mary £50.' To her 'dear
daughter Catherine Drury her father's and sister's picture, set
in gold, and her wedding diamond buckle ring.' To her ' dear
daughter Ann St. Leger her ear-rings and a pin.' She desires
c to be buried in the same grave as her dear husband, and to
have her name inscribed on his tombstone.' Her sole executrix
is Sophia, and the witnesses are Hester Provost and Elizabeth
Wood. The codicil transfers Domenick's gold watch to
Sophia, who is exhorted to give her own to George Frederick
instead, and to help him in every way.
1 Eurof. Mag. xlii. 78. 3 G.M. kxv. 91.
ELIZABETH JOHNSON, WIFE OF DOMENICK ANGELO.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 17
No mention whatever is made of her son Henry Angelo,
an omission eloquent of Henry's behaviour to his parents in
their declining years, while even the affidavit, as in the case of
Domenick's will, is made by Henry's son, ' George Frederick
Angelo Tremamondo and Elizabeth his wife.'
By his wife Elizabeth, Angelo Domenick Maria Trema-
mondo had at least six children, namely : —
1. Henry Charles William, born 5 April, 1756.
2. Florella Sophia, born X759-
3. Anne Caroline Eliza, born 14 October, 1763.
4. Catherine Elizabeth, born 27 August, 1766.
5. Elizabeth Tremamondo, born 13 June, 1768.
6. George Xavier Tremamondo, born 10 May, 1773.
[There was perhaps also a son Michael, concerning whom
we shall speak presently.]
These last two entries differ curiously from any of the
former. For instance, that of Elizabeth runs thus — c 1768.
Elizabeth Tremamondo d. of Angelo Dominico and Elizabeth
[Tremamondo]. Bapt. June 2oth. Born June I3th.' The
child's surname is entered as Tremamondo not Angela, and
Dominick's name Angela appears in its right place, namely as
the first of his Christian names. This child probably died
soon after birth, as she was only seven days old when baptized,
whereas in the case of all the other children about a month
was allowed to elapse before baptism. Of the other children of
Domenick Angelo and Elizabeth Johnson, his wife, we shall
treat presently.
Domenick Angelo, notwithstanding his large receipts
during so many years, died in comparative poverty, and there
is a touch of true natural feeling in his son Henry's reference
to that circumstance as recorded in his Reminiscences, how, no
longer affluent, he had, ' poor man,' to labour almost to the last.
With all his charm Domenick Angelo had certain faults
which cannot be said to be altogether special to his race and
country, but on the whole it must be admitted that his charac-
ter was that of a fine, generous, noble, high-minded gentleman,
and the following panegyric from the Gentleman s Magazine,
which appeared at the time of his death, he well deserved : —
'At Eton, July I ith, 1802, in his 8 1st year, A. (tic) Angelo, Esqr., sin-
cerely lamented by his family and a large circle of friends. A truly worthy
character. If any fault, too hospitable, too charitable for his means, which
rendered it necessary for him to toil almost to the latest period of his life.
1 8 THE ANCESTOR
His comfortable board was always spread for all coiners, and the needy never
went away unrelieved from his gate. He retained his bodily powers so well
that he gave a lesson in fencing a few days before his death. A very respect-
able character. Manners courtly and elegant. Well acquainted with life,
and familiarly known to the most distinguished characters in Europe for the
last half century. Long resident in England, respected by persons of the
highest rank and particularly the Royal Family. In the arts of Riding and
Fencing he was long at the head of his Profession, and by his skill in both
brought them into general adoption as necessary branches of fashionable edu-
cation. He understood all the continental tongues, and was altogether an
accomplished and estimable man.' (G.M. of 1802, Ixxii. 692)
Domenick Angelo's portrait was painted several times. In
Sir Joshua Reynolds' portrait of his wife, she is seen to be
wearing in a bracelet her husband's picture in miniature. That
miniature is believed to have been a copy of his own portrait
by Sir Joshua Reynolds. If so, then the ' Mr. Angelo ' who
was a sitter to Sir Joshua in 1770 may have been his son
Henry, then fourteen years old, and will perhaps be the por-
trait reproduced for this article. Domenick's own portrait has
been lost, and the miniature was taken to India by one of his
descendants and lost too. He was also painted however by
Sir William Beechey, and at Wilton, the seat of the Earl of
Pembroke, there was an equestrian portrait of him, a pendant
to one of the Earl, the horse by Morier and the figures by
Brompton.1 Angelo was also immortalized (by grace of
George II. himself) in West's famous picture, ' The Battle of
the Boyne ' and in the equestrian statue of William III. in
Dublin, in both which works, though the horseman's head is
that of King William, the figure, for which he stood, is that of
Angelo, and the charger the model of Angelo's famous white
horse ' Monarch,' the very horse on which he displayed his
feats of scientific horsemanship before the court of George II.
DOMENICO'S CHILDREN :-
I. ' HENRY ANGELO,' the famous swordsman. The follow-
ing is a copy of his baptismal certificate from St. George's
Church, Hanover Square : —
BAPTISM. — 1 6th May, 1766, Henry Charles William, son of Angelo
Domenico Malevolti and Elizabeth [Malevolti]. Born 5th April, 1766.
Three points should be observed here : (i) The orderjof
Domenico's Christian names, ' Angelo ' appearing in its proper
1 H. Angelo's Reminiscences.
ELIZABETH JOHNSON (MRS. DOMENICK ANGELO.)
By Sir Joshua Reynolds.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 19
place ; (2) The absence of the name Tremamondo ; and (3)
the fact that the child is named neither Angelo nor Trema-
mondo, but Malevolti. According to his baptismal certificate,
in fact, ' Henry Angelo,' afterwards under that name to be so
well known, was really Henry Charles William Malevolti.
The name ' Angelo ' is nowhere — it was subsequently assumed,
and Malevolti ignored. So charming an instance of the Angelo
manner deserves recognition, and should be borne in mind.
According to his own account in his Reminiscences his
' Godfathers were George III. (at that time Heir Apparent),
the late Dukes of Cumberland, York, and Kent, and the Duke
of Gloucester,' of which fact some of his Christian names at
least were commemorative.1 The whole of these princes were
pupils of his father.
He seems at first to have been intended for the navy,
and as a matter of fact he was actually enrolled by Captain
Augustus Hervey (Lady Hervey's second son) on the books
of the Dragon man-of-war in the capacity of midshipman,
thereby becoming entitled, at an extremely early age, to some
twenty-five guineas prize-money,' a circumstance which lends
probability to the conjecture that the marriage at St. George's,
Hanover Square, already noted, in 1728, between Richard
Johnson and Elizabeth Harvey, was that of Elizabeth John-
son's parents.
From Dr. Rose's academy at Chiswick, Henry's first
school, he was sent in 1764 to Eton, where his father was
fencing-master. From Eton in 1772, in his seventeenth year,
he went to Paris to study fencing under the renowned Motet,
the champion pareur of the continent, and to learn French.
For a time he lived with a M. Liviez, who had been a dancer
and a ballet-master at Drury Lane. His wife was English,
and he had fallen in love with her at the Percy Chapel in Char-
lotte Street, Soho. The lady was then a spinster no longer
young, and M. Liviez was under the impression that she
gazed upon him from her pew with admiring looks, which
however was by no means the case, for her principal charm
was a squint, and she was really glancing in another direction ;
1 They were : Edward Augustus, Duke of York, b. 1739; William Henry
(Admiral), Duke of Gloucester, b. 1743; Henry Frederick (Admiral), Duke of
Cumberland, b. 1745; Frederick William, b. 1750, d. 1765 ; all brothers of
George III.
* Angelo's Reminiscencei and Austin Dobson in Ltngman't.
20 THE ANCESTOR
notwithstanding, her figure was so admirably formed that she
had posed as the model for Roubillac's famous figure of
Eloquence on the Argyll tomb in the south transept of West-
minster Abbey. On Angelo this devoted couple showered
kindness, not even modified by seasons of hypochondria in-
duced by too generous feeding, ' when M. Liviez would fancy
himself Apollo, and fiddle feverishly to the Nine Muses typified
by a circle of chairs' (Longmans, Ap. 1898).
Henry Angelo returned to London in 1775, and at once
took his place in his father's academy at Soho as a finished
mdltre tfescrime. In 1778, in his twenty-third year, he
married a beautiful north country girl named Mary Bowman
Swindon, and the following is a copy of their marriage certi-
ficate at St. Ann's, Soho : —
MARRIAGE. — Henry Angelo of this Parish, and Mary Bowman Swindon
of the Parish of West Aukland in the County of Durham, were married in
this Church by Licence, B.L., the zjrd day of October, 1778, by me, John
Jefferson, Curate.
This marriage was solemnized between us : —
HENRY ANGELO.
MARY BOWMAN SWINDON.
In the presence of us : —
Is1. TAYLOR.*
CATHERINE] ANGELO. [Sister.]
In 1785 he took over his father's Fencing Academy in
Carlisle Street, and later on moved to the Opera House
buildings at the corner of the Haymarket, * almost facing the
Orange Coffee House,' then a favourite resort of foreigners of
all sorts and conditions. His skill was unrivalled, he had
public and scholastic appointments, and the list of his ' Own
Boastings,' of his pupils of noble and professional rank, who
frequented his school is a most imposing one. In 1813 he
was appointed naval instructor in the use of the cutlass, in-
troducing much-needed reforms, as his father in the British
cavalry, and his cousin Anthony in the Bengal cavalry, had
similarly introduced reforms as greatly needed. We read that
' previous to the year 1813 our sailors in boarding used the
1 This was Isaac Taylor (1759-1829) of a famous family of artists and
engravers. He was the son of Isaac Taylor (1730-1807), the original illus-
trator of Sir Charles Grandison, and the friend of Bartolozzi, Bewick, Richard
Smirke, Fuseli, Goldsmith, Garrick and the Angelos. His son was Isaac
Taylor (iii.) (1787-1865), artist, author and inventor. This gifted family
came of a Worcestershire stock (D.N.B.).
THE ANGELO FAMILY 21
cutlass after any fashion they pleased. It was suggested how-
ever that this was a defect, and with a view to repairing it
Clapperton and a few other clever midshipmen were ordered
to repair to Portsmouth dockyard to be instructed by the
celebrated swordsman Angelo.' l
In 1789 Angelo's school was burnt down, and he appears
to have moved to Old Bond Street (living at Bolton Row),
and there he established another school, of which his son, a
second Henry, took over charge in 1817. Then in^ a certain
year undefined, save by the phrase 'the year of Kean's benefit,'
perhaps 1827, he strained his left thigh, when that celebrated
actor and himself were fencing together, and was thenceforth
compelled to 'bid adieu to the practical exertions of the
science.' His remaining days he spent ' in the enjoyment of
a small annuity ' at some village, the name of which I have
not ascertained, somewhere near Bath, that city which his
father Domenick in his purple prime, when he was pro-
verbially known as ' one of the most elegant men of the age,
the gayest of the gay,' used to visit from time to time in the
sacred days of Beau Nash. There poor Henry Angelo prob-
ably died about the year 1839 and in (about) the 83rd year
of his age.
Like his father Domenick, Henry Angelo lived constantly
in the society of painters and actors. Like Domenick too
he had a pretty fancy in drawing, and his portrait at four-
teen or fifteen, reproduced for this article, represents him
before his drawing-board, crayon in hand. He had learnt
from Bartolozzi and Cipriani. With Rowlandson too he
had been intimate from boyhood. He knew him in Paris,
he accompanied him to Portsmouth to see the ghastly landing
of the French prisoners of war after Lord Howe's victory,
and he followed his hearse to the grave in 1827.
Jack Bannister the actor was another of Henry Angelo's
special friends, at whose benefits at Drury Lane he occasionally
appeared in character, notably as Mrs. Cole in Foote's Minor at
the Italian Opera House in 1 792. He also acted before the Royal
Family at Windsor as Papillon in The Lyar, also by Foote, an
occasion which he further signalized ' by particular desire ' with
* A Solo Duet, or Ballad Singers in Cranbourn Alley.' The
1 G.M. 1828, No. 98, p. 569.
22 THE ANCESTOR
boards of Lord Barrymore's theatre were also graced on occa-
sion by Henry Angelo, his favourite character being Lady
Pentweazle in Foote's Taste. Nor did his professional en-
gagements prevent him from sometimes joining Barrymore in
his extravagances, whether ' at places like Jacob's Well, or
driving with him through Colnbrook, when his sportive lord-
ship would " fan the daylights " — in other words, break the
windows right and left with his whip.' * Angelo was also a
member of the Pic-nic Society, inaugurated by Lady Bucking-
hamshire, the name of which suggested the title of Angela's
Pic-nic. Again we find him contributing to the dramatic dis-
plays at Brandenburgh House in Hammersmith, the house of
Lord Berkeley's sister, that Margravine of Anspach whose
comedy of the Sleeper-walker, as Austin Dobson notes, was
printed by Walpole at the Strawberry Hill Press. Anon he
is again with Barrymore at Brighton, under the windows of
the Pavilion, serenading Mrs. Fitzherbert of Swynnerton, the
morganatic spouse of the Fourth George. A joyous com-
panion wherever he was, keen at his business, but not less
keen to share in the extravagant caprices, in the masculine
pleasures, of the ' strong generation ' of the time of the Re-
gency.
Many are the anecdotal treasures stored away in Angelo's
unsorted jumble of reminiscences, and most difficult it is to
bring order out of his dateless higgledy-piggledy pages. Per-
haps those relating to old Soho are as interesting as any, and
therefore to save myself the trouble which I have no mind
for, and to oblige the reader, which I mostly desire, I make
use of the following excellent samples of some of them,
gathered and transmuted by no unskilful hand : —
Many Soho localities, familiar to residents nowadays from more prosaic
associations, take an old-world colour and romance from the pen of Henry
Angelo, or rather from the pen of W. H. Pyne, if it be true that he was the
actual writer of the Reminicences. The conflagration of the Pantheon in
Oxford Street, for instance, must have been a magnificent spectacle, though
we really cannot credit the assertion that the glare in the heavens was dis-
cernible by travellers upon Salisbury Plain. Mr. and Mrs. Siddons, standing
at the window in their night habiliments, would in themselves give unusual
interest to a modern Soho fire. The night was one of the coldest of the cen-
tury, and next morning icicles, I o or 15 feet long, testified to the exertions
of the firemen of 1789 to save young Wyatt's architectural masterpiece from
destruction.
1 Longman's, Ap., 1898.
HARRV ANGELO, SON OF DOMKNICK ANGEI.O AND
ELIZABETH JOHNSON.
Paints in ntf (I ty Sir Josltua Ktjncids).
THE ANGELO FAMILY 23
All who have been admirers of the famous Bach Passion Services at
St. Anne's, Soho, for the past five and twenty years would like to know how
the master's youngest son (a sad declension from the original Sebastian) strutted
through Soho during the later decades of the eighteenth century, enjoying
good dinners and making bad jokes in a species of German-English jargon.
He is shown us at Carlisle House playing the accompaniment as the gentle
Mrs. Angelo trilled a song of his composing.1 At another time, his fine
musical ear distracted by the discord which Gainsborough is making upon Mrs.
Angelo's harpsichord, he good humouredly pushes the great painter off the
stool, and, the immortal genius of his race flaming up in his grosser earthly
tenement, the misused keys thunder and wail forth majestic voluntaries, as
though the fat player were inspired. Gainsborough thought himself as gifted
in music as in painting, and Bach, once calling upon him at his studio, found
the creator of ' The Duchess of Devonshire ' blowing hard on the bassoon.
4 Do listen to the rich bass ! ' exclaimed Gainsborough. ' Pole it away, man,
pote it away,' was the answer, ' it is only fit for the lungs of a blackschmidt.
Py all the powers, it is just for all the vorld as the veritable praying of a
jackass. And your clarionet, baw, baw, 'tis as a duck ; 'tis vorse as a
goose !'
The Angelos were very fond of Sir Joshua Reynolds, who lived in Leices-
ter Square. As we mentioned, he painted Mrs. Angelo's portrait. Henry
considers that Reynolds made his way as an artist by sheer merit, quite un-
countenanced by the royal favour and lofty patronage in which Gainsborough
was so fortunate.
Richmond Buildings, about a hundred yards from the Angelos' front door,
was the abode of that singular person Home Tooke. He was wont to amuse
his neighbour, old Mr. Sheridan of Frith Street, by singing a not over re-
spectful version of ' God save the King.' Angelo fere, in consideration of the
kindnesses which he, as a foreigner, had received from the English royal family,
would not permit the exhibition of this parody of Tooke's under his own
loyal roof.
Continual glimpses were caught, in the Soho of that era, of the strange
genius George Morland, one of the greatest English landscape painters of all
time, who migrated from Paddington to Frith Street, and whose fortunes and
abilities declined as his besetting sin of drunkenness got him more completely
in its grip. Angelo recollects the tremendous vogue of the series of rural pic-
tures called ' The Weary Sportsman," when the precocious artist (he dressed in
buckskin boots and a tail coat at the age of thirteen) was quite a boy.
Rowlandson, the admirable illustrator of Dr. Syntax, was another friend of
Angelo, who himself took lessons in drawing from Bartolozzi of Broad Street.
Rowlandson was knocked down and plundered, just after Henry had left him,
one night in Poland Street. His own assailant he never detected, but curiously
enough, on a visit to a police office in Litchfield Street, Rowlandson was able
to identify by description a man who had recently robbed a gentleman in
Soho Square. This fellow was subsequently hanged, a fact of which his dis-
coverer was very proud.
No more extraordinary incident is recounted by Angelo, nor is there any
1 The song referred to was one entitled ' Patie ' ; words by Allan Ramsay
(Reminiscences).
24 THE ANCESTOR
tale of which he more emphatically asserts the truth, than his statement that
he one evening met, at the corner of New Compton Street, a strange young
woman, meanly attired, who was so famished that she voraciously devoured
some biscuits he gave her, but who in after years became the brilliant and
fascinating Lady Hamilton, the society queen of Naples, and enshrined (not
altogether nobly) in the annals of English history as the friend of Horatio
Nelson. There appears no reason to doubt the narrator's word, and surely of
all Soho romances this is the most remarkable. Angelo hardly ever saw the for-
lorn maiden again to speak to, but he found out that she was a certain Emma
Hart, who had been servant to a lady of his acquaintance, and who had left
her situation through grief at the demise of her young master, whom she had
devotedly nursed.
From house to house in Soho Square Angelo watched the elder Sheridan
and other sympathizers with the unfortunate Dr. Dodd, calling with pens and
parchments in their hands and ink-bottles in their button-holes, to solicit
signatures for the royal pardon of this most accomplished and popular forger.
The amount of sympathy elicited in this case in 1777 was extraordinary. The
moral Dr. Johnson, and about a hundred thousand other friends, did their
best to persuade the king to save the eloquent preacher and voluminous writer
from the death penalty. George III. was specially incensed because the doc-
tor had tried to buy the living of St. George's, Hanover Square, for ,£3,000,
and Dr. Dodd could only obtain the privilege of being conveyed to Tyburn,
in consideration of his profession and attainments, in a mourning coach instead
of the ordinary cart. Mrs. Angelo, overcome with emotion, had to leave the
Soho dinner table the night before he was hung. Henry tells us that, from
the windows of Carlisle House, he could see the criminals going along Oxford
Road to Tyburn ; but on this important occasion he made one of a party to
view the distinguished execution under the fatal tree.
Two of a trade, as Henry remarks, do not always agree ; but he was very
fond of a fellow fencing master called Lapiere. Their pupils often interchanged
bouts, and it was a great shock to him to call at his friend's house one day, in
Gerrard Street, and to find that he had cut his throat. He had been de-
feated by a rival in his profession, and the catastrophe was supposed to have
preyed upon his mind. Poor Lapiere is buried in St. Anne's Churchyard.
One of the very few personal details the younger Angelo gives us about
himself is that, in the year 1802, his success as a fencing-master justified him
in engaging a spacious apartment in the neighbourhood of the Mansion House.
Here, by his own account, he not only did a good deal of profitable business,
but dispensed much hospitality in return for the elegant entertainments with
which he had been honoured at the first tables of the wealthy city of London.
It is curious how often one is impressed with the conviction, in reading his
Reminiscences, that the combined blood of the Malevoltis and Tremamondos,
of which we hear so much in his father's genealogy, did not succeed, at any
rate in the person of Henry himself, in producing quite a gentleman. How-
ever, he says that his broiled beefsteak and bottle of old port, served in what he
terms his attic, have lost many a Lord Mayor's banquet a distinguished guest.
This may be true enough ; there is a good deal to be said in favour of a well
grilled steak and (for a sound liver) a bottle of old port.
One of Henry Angelo's crowning mercies was Lord Byron, the real live
poet. He was accustomed to go to the Albany every day at noon, to do his
THE ANGELO FAMILY 25
best to keep down, by regular and tolerably violent exercise, an unromantic
tendency to avoirdupois with which the bard was threatened. The author of
ChiUe HaroU can hardly have looked a poetic object as he engaged at baguette
a la main, which he preferred to the foils, as it was not so awkward for his
lame foot. He put on a thick flannel jacket, and over it a pelisse lined with
fur tied round with a Turkish towel ; a memory perhaps of the Bride of
Abydot. After a sharp bout he would send for his valet to rub him down.
Angelo tells us, with especial pride, how on one occasion Lord Byron called
to him from his carriage at Newmarket, drove him to Cambridge, entertained
him royally, and finally handed him up a bumper of old St. John's ale to the
top of the coach that was to convey him back to London, at the same time
taking off his hat. We could not bid farewell to the younger Angelo under
any happier condition than that of Lord Byron taking off his hat to him.1
Henry Angelo's publications were: —
(1) Reminiscences, 2 vols., 1828 and 1830.
(2) Angelas Pic-Nic, 1834, with a frontispiece by George
Cruikshank.
(3) A translation in smaller form of his father's UEcole
des Armes. This ' translation ' was made by Rowland-
son the artist, and the book was afterwards incor-
porated under the head 'Escrime' in the Encycldpedie
of Diderot and d'Alembert.
(4) Twenty plates in the use of the Hungarian and High-
land broadsword, which were designed by Rowland-
son and put forth in 1798 by T. Egerton of the
Military Library, Whitehall, ' the adventurous pub-
lisher who subsequently issued the first three novels
of Jane Austen.'2
Henry Angelo also made a very magnificent screen for
Lord Byron, having on one side all the most celebrated pugi-
lists, and on the other all the greatest actors. Mr. John
Murray of Albemarle St. is said to be the happy possessor of
this historic screen at the present time.
Of the sons of HENRY ANGELO two of them received
direct commissions from the Duke of York, the Commander-
in-Chief, one of Henry's godfathers, and their own.3
(i) GEORGE FREDERICK, eldest son, whose baptismal cer-
tificate from St. Ann's Church, Soho, runs as follows : —
1 Parish Magazine of St. Ann's, Soho, for April, 1902 (by kind permission
of the rector, the Rev. J. H. Cardwell).
a Longman t, Ap. 1898.
3 The Duke of York was godfather to two of the sons of Henry Angelo
(i.) (Reminiscences).
26 THE ANCESTOR
BAPTISM.— 1779. Born July 10. George Frederick Angelo Tremamondo,
son of Henry Charles William Angelo and Mary. Baptized August 6th.
As well as of the Duke of York, he was a protege of the
Prince Regent, afterwards George IV., and in 1794 was offered
a commission as Lieutenant in the 3ist Light Dragoons.
Declining this in the hope of better civil employment, he
became clerk to His Royal Highness the Prince Frederick, the
Commander-in-Chief at the Horse Guards, in 1797, holding
as well a commission in the i6th Reserve Battalion (Ireland),
conferred on him ' by His Royal Highness' command,' to
which he was gazetted ensign on 9 June, 1804. He was
promoted to a lieutenancy in the Royal West Indian Rangers
in June, 1807, and became captain on 20 January, 1814.
But it is to be noted that he never joined his regiments and
never served with the colours, being seconded all the time of
his service as being employed exclusively at Head Quarters
by the Commander-in-Chief.1 His appointment in the Army
he resigned in 1 8 1 8, but was only allowed the value of his
lieutenancy.2
In 1821 he retired from his civil appointment as clerk to
the Commander-in-Chief on a pension of £300 a year.3 His
papers at the Record Office include interesting testimony from
his uncle (by marriage), General William St. Leger, Mr. Wind-
ham, Secretary for War, and General W. Winyard, as well as a
special reference to the Prince of Wales' favour and goodwill
towards him.
In his retirement he lived at Hill House, Southampton.
His wife, whom he is said to have married in 1801, was
named Elizabeth McCoy, and she died in 1817 : —
DEATH. — 1817, Jan. 5. In Carmarthen, St. Fitzroy Square, the wife
of Capt. Angelo of the West India Rangers (G.M . vol. 87, p. 91).
He had two sons, John Angelo who died young, and
William St. Leger Angelo who died unmarried. Also two
daughters, Elizabeth born in 1 804, who married on 1 8 October,
1831, the Rev. John Dayman of Mamsbury, North Devon,
and who died 17 November, 1875 > an<^ Sophie Angelo, who
married Captain Edwin Rich.4
MARRIAGE. — At Kingston, near Portsmouth, Captain Edwin Rich, R.N.,
son of the late Sir Charles Rich, Bart., of Shirley House, Hants, to Sophia, young-
1 Memoranda Papers at the Record Office.
' Ibid. a Ibid.
4 Family Evidences.
HENRY A.NGEUO I. AS "A FENCER.
(Jrtia uxkHmn.1
THE ANGELO FAMILY 27
est daughter of Capt. G. F. Angelo, of Hill House, Southampton (G. M. 1829,
P- 74)-
Captain George Frederick Angelo, who is said to have died
in 1836, married a second wife, and the following extract from
a letter of a member of the Angelo family refers to her : —
Miss Jane Dayman used to visit Elizabeth, the second wife and widow of
George Frederick Angelo (Family Notes).
William St. Leger Angela^ the surviving son of George
Frederick Angelo, was born in the year 1812, and on
the death of his father in 1836 was gazetted an ensign in
the Royal African Colonial Corps, stationed at Sierra
Leone, on 20 May, 1836, and he sailed in the ensuing
October, joining the corps in September.1 That corps
shortly afterwards seems to have been disbanded, and
William St. Leger Angelo was transferred as lieutenant
to the 3rd West India Regiment, then newly raised.2
In 1845 he was gazetted captain in the same corps,3
and in 1850 he died, as witness the following announce-
ment : —
DEATH.— 1850, May ist. Aged 38. Captain William St. Leger Angelo,
of the jrd West India Regiment. (G.M. vol. 34, p. 101)
(2) HENRY ANGELO (II.) — ' On October I4th, 1852, died at
Brighton, aged 72, Henry Angelo, Esq., Superintendent of
Sword Exercise to the Army.' 4
Henry Angelo (II.) must therefore have been the second
son of Henry Angelo (I.), and born in 1780 or 1781. Like
his father and grandfather he was brought up as a Mattre
(fEscrime, and carried on and upheld the famous school of mas-
ters founded by Domenick. He took over charge of the
Academy from his father in 1817, and in 1830 moved it to St.
James' Street. Among his many pupils there were the King of
Hanover and the present Duke of Cambridge. In 1833 he
was appointed Superintendent of Sword Exercise to the Army,
a post which he held to the last.*
In his brief informal will at Somerset House he styles
himself Henry Angelo of Upper Wimpole Street. He
leaves all his effects to his ' wife, Mary Ann Angelo.'
1 Memoranda Papers at the Record Office.
' Army List. > Ibid.
• G.M. vol. 38, p. 543. » Ibid.
28 THE ANCESTOR
His wife here mentioned is said to have been a daughter of
General Heathcote, and died in Wimpole Street.1 Charles
Henry Angelo is described in the Gentleman's Magazine * as
' sociable and amiable in private life, endearing himself to all."
One of his contemporaries also writes of him : 'Henry (II.)
seemed to me a model man — in stature, mien, looks, dress
and in manners too.' With such a tribute we may safely
leave him to his repose in Kensal Green.
He was succeeded by his son Henry Angelo (III.), or in
full, Henry Charles Angelo, as to whose career I possess little
more than the following extract : —
MARRIAGE. — z6th December, 1832, Henry Charles Angelo, Batchelor, to
Elizabeth Mary Bungay, Spinster, a Minor, of Brighthelmstone, Sussex.
To him Dame Sophie Angelo in 1 847 left the interest of
her house in Carlisle Street, Soho Square — the old Carlisle
House, the home of glorious old Domenick, and he too it
must have been who, as Charles Henry Angelo, published
The Bayonet Exercise in 1853. He is stated to have left four
sons : (i) Charles Heathcote Angelo, who emigrated to Aus-
tralia ; (2) Arthur Angelo, a protege of Lord Frederick Fitz
Clarence and General Yorke, who was born on 23 March,
1836, was gazetted ensign in the 6th Foot on 13 October,
1854, and lieutenant in the 74th on 15 January, 1858. He
retired by sale of his commission on 5 March, 1861, and went
to New Zealand3; (3) Michael Angelo, born 12 January,
1838, a clerk in the War Office (1855-72) 4 ; and (4) Stewart
Angelo, who emigrated to and is now settled in New Zealand ;
and one daughter, the wife of a distinguished officer, still living.
With Henry Angelo (III.), deceased about 1854, the
famous Angelo School of Masters came to an end.
(3) EDWARD ANTHONY ANGELO, the third son, who also
received a direct commission from H.R.H. the Duke of
York. This officer had a most distinguished and varied
career, having been, apparently, in almost everything that was
going. He entered the army as an ensign in the 28th Regi-
mentlon 9 July, 1803, so that (supposing he was then sixteen)
1 Family Evidences.
* Vol. 38.
s Memo. Papers at the Record Office.
4 Harry Abercrombie Angelo was also for a time a clerk in the War Office
((874-5). He was a son of Colonel John Angelo of Mussoorie, and perished
i n the Burma War of 1886 (see infra).
THE ANGELO FAMILY 29
he must have been born in or about 1787. He was gazetted
a lieutenant in the 52nd Regiment on 28 August, 1804, an
army captain on i December, 1 806, and a regimental captain
on 14 May, 1807.' He became major on 2 June, 1814, and
lieut.-colonel on 22 July, 1830," and finally a colonel in the
army, being then of the 3oth Foot, on 22 December, 1847.*
On 12 December, 1834, he went on half-pay.* He served
with the expedition to Egypt in 1 807, on the coast of Cala-
bria in 1808, with the expedition to Walcheren in 1809, with
the army to Catalonia in 1812 and 1813, he was adjutant-
general attached to the British-Austrian army, he acted as
A.D.C. to General Nugent in the campaign against Eugene
Beauharnais the Viceroy of Italy, he was present at the siege
and capture of Trieste, Cattaro and Ragusa, and was conspic-
uous in various other services in the Adriatic.8
Besides his services when posted to the regiments already
noted, he served much in the 2ist Foot, and was repeatedly
mentioned in despatches. Thus in his despatch dated Trieste,
13 October, 1814, Admiral Freemantle mentions 'Captain
Angelo of the 2 1 st Foot as foremost in showing where to
place fascines to protect the men, whilst the gun was getting
up.' ' Again, when off Ragusa, Captain Hoste, R.A., makes
special mention of c the assistance rendered by Captain Angelo
of General Campbell's Staff in the capture of the place.' 7
In 1818, being then brevet-major in the 2ist Foot, he
published a letter on the administration of the Ionian Islands.8
Among other appointments held by him was that of Army
Instructor in Sword Exercise under the Duke of Wellington,
showing that he also had inherited the quick eye and the cool
judgment of his fathers.8
In 1827 he was made a Military Knight of Hanover,10 and
in 1839 he had the appointment of Chief Commissioner of
Police for Bolton on a salary of £500 a year.11 Lastly he
became a Knight of Windsor in 1854. He survived in
honourable retirement till 1869, when he died at Windsor
Castle on 26 August,12 being then about eighty years of age.
1 Army List, 1810. J Ibid.
3 G.M. vol. 27, p. 76. * Army List, 1845.
« Ibid. « G.M. (1814) vol. 84, p. 79.
i Ibid. » Copy in B.M.
> G.M. vol. 38. 10 Biog. Diet. B.M.
11 G.M. new ser. vol. 12, p. 419. " Biog. Diet. B.M.
C
30 THE ANCESTOR
In 1816 Colonel A. Angelo had married — having run
away with his youthful bride — a daughter of the Marquis de
Choiseul.
MARRIAGE. — nth July, 1816, Major Angelo, 2ist Regiment, to Pauline,
daughter to the Marquis de Choiseul (G.M. 1816, p. 176).
It is somewhat remarkable and not a little suspicious, de-
noting a princely wigging from his godfather the Commander-
in-Chief, that immediately after this marriage he was gazetted
to the Newfoundland Fencibles and reduced to half-pay : ' 9th
Sept. 1816, Edward Anthony Angelo, a Major of the New-
foundland Fencibles, placed on the half-pay List.'1 But what-
ever the breeze, and it probably was due to a complaint from
the Marquis of Choiseul, it soon blew over, and he was again
restored to his beloved 2ist.
As a pendant to his own marriage, the following announce-
ment is apropos : —
MARRIAGE. — April, 1817. At Paris, the Comte de Choiseul, Aide-de-Camp
to the Duke of Berry, to the Hon. Maria Charlotte Parkyns, youngest daughter
to the late Lord Raucliffe (Dodsley's Annual Register).
The Comte de Choiseul was probably Mrs. Angelo's brother.
Of the marriage of Colonel Edward Anthony Angelo and
Pauline de Choiseul there was issue one son (at least) and
three daughters : —
Edward Augustus Angela^ the son, appears in the Army List
as having been gazetted on 10 November, 1843, an en-
sign in the loth Foot, then serving at Meerut. Whether
he joined in India or remained at the dep6t at home I
do not know,3 but on 15 January, 1845, Lord Ripon,.
President of the Board of Directors, on the recommen-
dation of Earl de Gray, who certified that he was well
acquainted with his family, character and connections
gave him an East Indian cadetship, and on 'January
24th, 1845, E. A. Angelo of the Bengal Infantry, was
sent to Bengal, via Marseilles.' On his arrival at Cal-
cutta he was posted to the 22nd Native Infantry, then
stationed at Barrackpore, but he declined to accept the
1 4rmy List.
a At the time of his nomination he was apparently in India : ' Augustus Ed-
ward Angelo nominated when an ensign in H.M. loth Regiment in Bengal'
(India Office Records).'1
THE ANGELO FAMILY 31
appointment, and returned to England. On 23 July
his father wrote from the United Service Club to the
Earl of Ripon to report his unexpected return, and to
surrender his cadetship again into his lordship's hands.
His rank as ensign was cancelled on 28 November,
,
Colonel Angelo's three daughters by his wife Pauline,
namely Georgina, Matilda and Bertha Angelo, still survive,
and reside in Paris.2
(4) WILLIAM HENRY ANGELO was the fourth son of
Henry Angelo (I.) He must have been born in or about
1789, and he died in 1855.
DEATH. — Jan. igth, 1855. At Brompton, aged 66, William Henry
Angelo, Esq. (G.M. vol. 43, p. 332).
He is said to have married a lady named Cope, and to have
had issue another William Angelo.3 Of his career all we
know is that for a time he was settled at Oxford, where he
kept a fencing school. Subsequently he became the manager
of his brother's and nephew's academy in St. James's Street.
He is the ' Old William ' whom many will still remember, an
excellent master of fence, even to the last, when, in consequence
of an injury, his weapon had to be bound to his hand.
His will at Somerset House is dated 22 August, 1840, and
it was proved 2 March, 1855. In it he styles himself ' William
Angelo, otherwise William Henry Angelo, formerly of Oxford,
and of 21 Hill Street, Westminster, fencing master.' His
c wife, Elizabeth Sarah Angelo,' to whom he left his estate, was
sole executrix.
I think it just possible also that the child mentioned in the
following announcement may have been a son of Henry : —
BURIAL. — 1794, March loth. James Angelo, a child of five months from
Prince's Court, Soho. Died of convulsions. (St. Amis Registers.)
[2. MICHAEL ANGELO. There is a suspicious gap of some
four or five years between the dates of birth of Sophia Angelo
and Anne Caroline Angelo, between 1758 and 1763, and it is
possible that Domenick had a second son Michael born in that
interval, and that he is the youthful author mentioned in the
following quotation : —
1 India Office Records.
1 Family Evidences.
Family Notes.
32 THE ANCESTOR
The Drawing School for little Masters and Misses. To which are added the,
Whok Art of Kite-making, and the Author's new Discoveries in the Preparation
of Water Colours. By Master Michael Angelo. Dedicated to H.R.H.
Prince Edward. 1774. Price 6d.
This is the title page of a small duodecimo in the British
Museum, which is introduced by a frontispiece of little Prince
Edward in a frame.1 Domenick we know had a taste for
painting, and Henry his eldest son, who was in Paris when
this booklet was published, had been a pupil of Bartolozzi.
But I have not succeeded in finding ' Master Michael's ' bap-
tismal certificate, which may possibly be at St. Giles-in-the-
Fields — forbidden ground at present (excepting on payment
of preposterous search-fees) to the literary inquirer.
On the other hand Michael may have been a son of
Leonard Tremamondo, though that alternative is unlikely, as
Leonard is understood never to have married.]
3. FLORELLA SOPHIA ANGELO TREMAMONDO was born as we
have seen in 1759, but I have not succeeded in finding her bap-
tismal register. A pretty brunette, educated abroad, and very
accomplished, she was a contemporary of the young Prince of
Wales, afterwards George IV., who conceived a very high
esteem for her, and to whose friendship she owed it that she
was made a Dame of Eton while still under twenty, which
gave her an assured position, a house, and an income, and, I
suspect, in her case, frequent non-residence. She lived to a
good old age, and at Eton she died, never having married : —
DEATH. — April 7th, 1847. At Eton College, aged 88, Mrs. Sophia An-
gelo. She was the oldest and most celebrated Dame of Eton, having been
connected with that establishment near seventy years.2
The following is an abstract of her will. She mentions : —
My nephew Henry Angelo son of my brother Henry.
To Henry's wife she leaves diamonds, etc., etc.
To their son Henry Charles Angelo her interest in her house in Carlisle
St., Soho, etc.
To her niece Levina, wife of the Rev. John Dayman, Rector of Shelton.
Cumberland, the bulk of her estate, lease of the house at Eton which she has
of the Provost and Fellows, and makes her residuary legatee.
To her dear niece Sophie, wife of General Wood, £200 and presents
(pictures, etc).
To dear [niece] Eliza Harnage £200 and presents.
1 Prince Edward (b. 1767), then only seven years old, afterwards Duke of
Kent, became the father of Queen Victoria.
1 G.M. xxvii. 561.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 33
To Eliza's sister Harriet £200 and the picture of testatrix' sister St.
Leger, etc.
To dear Mrs. Arthur Drury £200, etc., etc.
at Somerset House).
4. ANNE CAROLINE ELIZA. Her baptismal certificate at
St. Ann's, Soho, runs as follows : —
BAPTISM. — 1763, November loth. Baptized Anne Caroline Eliza Angelo,
d. of Domenico and Elizabeth [Angelo]. Born Oct. 1 4.
This lady, like her sister Sophie, was educated abroad.
' During the long holidays when I was a school-boy [at Eton]
my father and mother took my two eldest sisters to place
them in a convent in French Flanders, the Ursulines at
Lisle.'1
Accomplished and captivating, as may be inferred from her
portrait, she married in 1785, in her twenty-second year, Cap-
tain William St. Leger, of the iyth Dragoons, at St. Ann's
Church, Soho.
MARRIAGE. — William St. Leger, Esq., of this Parish, and Caroline Ann
Angelo of this Parish also, were married in this Church by Licence, B. L.,
the zgth day of July, 1785, by me John Jefferson, Curate.
This marriage was solemnized between us : —
WM. ST. LEGER.
CAROLINE ANN ANGELO.
In the presence of us : —
D. ANGELO TREMAMONDO.
LEONARDO TREMAMONDO.
S[OPHIA] ANCELO.
With this certificate may be compared the following ex-
tract : —
MARRIAGE. — 1785. Lately Captain St. Leger2 of the 1 7th Regiment of
Dragoons to Miss A. Angelo.3
Mrs. St. Leger lost her husband in 1 8 1 8, and the fol-
lowing is a copy of his monumental inscription in Marylebone
parish church : —
Lt. General William St. Leger who began his military life at the age of 1 6
in the 1 7th Light Dragoons then serving in America. He highly distin-
guished himself and obtained Public Thanks. He also served honourably in
Europe and Asia. Died 28 March 1818, aged 58.
1 Angelo's Pic-nic.
a He was a son of Colonel St. Leger, one of the original subscribers
to Domenick's VEcole des Armei in 1764.
3 G.M. Iv. 664.
34
THE ANCESTOR
Mrs. St. Leger survived him many years, dying in 1833,
having had one son and five daughters.1
5. CATHERINE ELIZABETH, Domenico's third daughter, was
born in 1766, and baptized also- at St. Ann's, Soho Square.
BAPTISM. — 1766. Sept. 8, baptized Catherine Elizabeth Angelo d. of
Domenick and Elizabeth [Angelo]. Born Aug. 27.
Doubtless she was educated in a convent abroad like her
elder sisters. She was the beauty of the family, and a sitter
to Sir Joshua Reynolds (portrait). She fell to an English
clergyman, to Mark Drury, Second Master at Harrow, whose
brother, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Drury, was then Head Master,
and the following is a copy of her marriage register : —
The Rev. Mark Drury 2 of Harrow, co. Middlesex, and Catherine Angelo
of this parish were married in this Church by Licence, B. L., the i6th day
of August, 1 790, by me John Jefferson, Curate.
This marriage was solemnized between us : —
M. DRURY.
CATHERINE ANGELO.
In the presence of: —
DOMCO ANGELO.
SOPHIE ANGELO.
CHARLOTTE GOODSCW.
T. HORNE TOOKE.3
With this certificate we should compare the following ex-
tract : —
MARRIAGE. — Rev. Mark Drury, Second Master of Harrow School, to Miss
Catherine Angelo of Carlisle St.*
Catherine Drury is stated to have died on 28 November,
1825, aged 59, leaving by her husband, who is said to have
died in 1827, one surviving child, a daughter, Eliza Drury,
who married in 1830 Edward Harnage (who was born in
1798 and died in 1861), third son of Sir George Harnage,
first baronet, of Belswardyne, Salop.5
1 Family Evidences.
2 A Lady Drury had a house in Dean Street, Soho, in 1762 (Rate Books).
3 This of course is the celebrated Home Tooke, to whom Mr. W. Tooke,
of Walton, Norfolk, and of the Temple, London, presented his own name
Tooke and a valuable estate in consequence of the then Mr. Home's strenuous
exertions against the policy which lost us our American colonies.
« G.M. (1790), Ix. 858.
6 Family Evidences.
GENERAL WII.I.IAM Sr LEUEK AS A
CAPTAIN IN THE I;TH DRAGOONS.
HOKN 1759. HIED 1818.
JOHN AM.I.IO »v KHIMII KGH.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 35
Catherine Drury's picture by Sir Joshua Reynolds was
•sold by her descendant Mrs. Wayne, and is now in the col-
lection of Lord Rothschild.
6 and 7. The other known children of Domenick Angelo,
namely, GEORGE XAVIER TREMAMONDO and ELIZABETH
TREMAMONDO, have been already briefly noticed.
George's baptismal register at St. Ann's, Soho, runs as
follows : —
1773. Baptized June 13, George Xavier Tremamondo, s. of Angelo
Dominico and Elizabeth [Tremamondo]. Born May I o.
The story of his life I do not know, but I imagine that he
died early.
II. FRANCIS XAVIER TREMAMONDO, the second son
of James Tremamondo of Leghorn, was born, as we have seen,
on 4 December, 1 720, his godfather having been John Simondio.
I suppose him to have been the second brother mentioned by
Henry Angelo. He says in his Reminiscences : l There were
four brothers all dead in 1 829." It is not at all impossible, as I
have already intimated, that Francis Xavier was really the John
Xavier Tremamondo who flourished in Edinburgh from 1763
to 1 805, and that under that name he followed Domenick to
England some time between 1753 and 1759. And the reason
for that suspicion is to be found in the various announcements
of the Edinburgh Tremamondo's death, wherein it is clearly
stated that when John Xavier of Edinburgh died on 16 March,
1 805, he was eighty-four years of age, which he could not
have been within three or four years if he had been the real
John Xavier (who was a younger brother), but which he would
have been with just three months and twelve days to spare if
he had been Francis Xavier. To Englishmen of the middle
of the eighteenth century the name Francis Xavier would
have a decidedly unpleasant flavour, reminiscent of Jesuits
and of Goa where St. Francis Xavier laboured and was en-
tombed, and where the Inquisition had been so busy at work.
Men had not yet got over the memories of '45, it was the
age of the ' Catholic Riots,' and that thought may have
weighed on the mind of Francis Xavier Tremamondo, and it
would have been quite in the Angelo manner if he had cor-
rected the flavour by substituting the name of his younger
1 Vol. ii. 496.
36 THE ANCESTOR
brother for his own, granting always that it was he and not
the younger brother, the real John, who had joined Domenick
in London. Setting aside that hypothesis however, in defer-
ence to the terms of the last will and testament of John
Xavier Tremamondo of Edinburgh (to be quoted presently),
we must conclude on more mature reflection that Francis
Xavier remained abroad if in the meantime he had not died.
In that case his history is a blank, unless it was he who is
alleged to have found employment at the Court of Turin.
We are informed that there was an c Angelo Tremamondo '
(how delightfully Anglesque the vagueness !) who was ap-
pointed Master of the Horse to Maurice of Savoy, son of
King Charles Emmanuel III., by Letters Patent, dated Turin,
5 July, 1776, and the original instrument is stated to be still
in the possession of one of the descendants of John Angelo's son,
Anthony Angelo Tremamondo (concerning whom see infra],
We have already seen that Domenick Angelo and his wife were
well known at the Court of Sardinia, and it is not impossible (as
alleged) that a brother of Domenick held such an appointment.
That brother, if any such appointment ever was made by
' Letters Patent,' may have been Francis Xavier, unless indeed
the Turin ' Angelo Tremamondo ' was really Anthony Angelo
'Tremamondo himself^ which is just as likely, seeing that it
was probably Anthony who had gone forward with Domenick's
consignment of sixty hunters to the King of Sardinia in 1765.*
In either case it is not a little strange that Henry Angelo, the
family annalist, who loves to revel in royalties and lords and
glories of all sorts, seems never to have heard of the ' Letters
Patent ' appointing a near kinsman of his own Master of the
Horse to H.R.H. Maurice of Savoy at a salary of 1,500
francs a year. These ' Letters Patent ' are too interesting
not to be given in full from the translation in my posses-
sion, and here they are : —
Benedetto Maurizio di Savoia, Duke of Chablais, Prince of Bene, Dromero,
Biu, Crescentino, Busea and Trino ; Marquis of Cantello, Santhia, Desana,
Borgomanero, and Ghemare ; Count of Polenzo, Roccabruna, Ticerae, and Aper-
tole ; all of which cities, lands, and places, appertain unto us ; as also Marquis
of Aglie, Count of Bairo and Osegna.
During all the period in which Angelo Tremamondo has held provisionally
the office of our Master of the Horse, We having had opportunity of observing,
no less his wisdom and punctuality in the fulfilment of his duties, than his
1 See ante.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 37
ability, knowledge, and singular skill, as to the management and direction of
horses, We are willingly disposed to sign our favour establishing him our Master
of the Horse, being confident that he will fully realize our expectations. So by
this certificate, signed by Our hand, sealed with our seal, and countersigned by
our Secretary of the Cabinet, We elect, constitute, and depute the above men-
tioned Angelo Tremamondo to be our Master of the Horse with all the honours,
privileges, rights, prerogatives, and other things appertaining to this employ-
ment, and with an annual stipend of one thousand five hundred francs, which
we send to the Treasurer of our House and Household to pay him proportion-
ately, at the terminations of the quarters, commencing from the date of the gift,
and continuing during his services and our pleasure on condition that he gives
the required oath to cease his former employment. We send in the meanwhile
to all our officials, and to whosoever else be proper, to recognize him, esteem him,
and make him generally known as our Master of the Horse, and to the Inten-
dant General of our House and Household to inscribe him as such on the Balance
of Accounts, making him of consequence, and letting him enjoy the stipend and
other things above mentioned. This is our desire. Dated at Turin, 5th July,
1776.
Patent of Master of the Horse to your Royal Highness in favour of Angelo
Tremamondo, with all the honours, privileges, rights, prerogatives, and other
things belonging to this employment, with an annual stipend of 1,500 francs,
to commence from the date of the gift, on condition that he gives the required
oath and ceases the employment he formerly held.
III. JOHN XAVIER TREMAMONDO, born at Leghorn
on 22 September, 1723, was the fourth son of James Trema-
mondo of Leghorn, and the third of the ' four brothers '
referred to by Henry Angelo in his Reminiscences. If I am
right in my present deductions he is the c Angelo Trema-
mondo ' so famous in his day as the Master of the Royal
Academy of Exercises in Edinburgh — as well known and as
widely respected in the northern capital as his brother Domenick
was in the southern.
He followed Domenick to England in or about 1753, and
with Domenick he lived and worked up to the year 1763.
His name never appears on the Rate Books as a separate house-
holder, which is the evidence that he shared a domicile with
Domenick. In St. James' Street, close to Domenick's house
in St. James' Place, there was living at the same time a certain
Peter Dubourgh whose name appears on the Rate Books, for
instance in 1762 as 135. ioj</. in arrear (Rate Books, St. James'
Parish). John Xavier Tremamondo's wife was also named
Dubourg — Marie Francoise Justine Dubourgh. She was pro-
bably a relation of the Peter Dubourgh of St. James' Street,
and John Xavier Tremamondo married her in or just before
1759, the year in which Sir Joshua Reynolds painted her
38 THE ANCESTOR
picture. As will be seen by the print from the original which
is now in the possession of Mrs. Smith of Stoke Leigh,
Weybridge, she was charmingly pretty.
When Domenick Angelo moved from Leicester Fields to
Soho in 1763, his brother John went to Edinburgh, furnished
no doubt with strong support from the Royal Family. There
he opened an academy for both riding and fencing, and there
buildings and a manage were promptly built for him by the in-
habitants at a cost of £2,733 1SS- His official salary was
£200 a year, in addition to which he was allowed to charge
three guineas a month as his tuition fee from every gentleman
attending his academy. He realized his ambition when in
1776 the academy received a royal charter. Officially he was
known in Edinburgh as c Mr. Angelo Tremamondo,' or
familiarly as * Mr. Angelo,' a name which on Scottish lips
soon assumed the form of Ainslie. His block of buildings
and stables measured 150 ft. each way, and the actual riding
school 124 ft. by 42 ft.1 The Weekly Magazine for 1776 de-
scribes a ' carnival ' held at the Royal Riding School, at which
the gentlemen performed their various equestrian exercises
with great dexterity, and at which ' a gold medal with a suit-
able device and motto, given by Mr. Angelo,' was presented
by the Countess of Selkirk, as the prize of successful merit,
to Robert Cay, Esq., of Northumberland.
The edifice in which he so long officiated was pulled down
to make way for the new Surgeons' Hall.2
That he was a fencing master as well as a riding master is
proved by the Edinburgh Directory for 1775-6, in which he is
entered thus : ' Angelo Tremamondo — Fencing Master,
Nicholson Street.' 3
Kay gives an equestrian portrait of John Angelo in a
Khevenhuller hat and long riding boots. He died in Edinburgh
leaving no issue by his second wife, his daughter who had
married a surgeon named Miller having predeceased him.
DEATH. — On March i6th, 1805, at Edinburgh, aged 84, Mr. Angelo Tre-
mamondo, late Master of the Royal Academy of Riding there. (Edinburgh
Magazine for 1805 ; also Scots Magazine for 1805, p. 563)
His widow appears to have left England altogether, and it
is supposed that she died in Florence.
1 Old and New Edinburgh, vol. ii. and Scots' Magazine for December, 1763.
J Ibid. 3 Copy in B.M.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 39
The following copy of a deed in Edinburgh constitutes
John Xavier Tremamondo's last will and testament made
twelve days before his death : —
REGISTER OF DEEDS, EDINBURGH.
Deed of settlement of GIOVANNI XAVERIO TREMAMONDO, born
Vol. 306, in the city of Leghorn in Tuscany, late Master of the Royal Aca-
p. 999, demy of Exercises in Edinburgh, and MARIE FRANCOISE JUSTINE
25th April, DUBOURGH, born in the city of Versailles in France, spouses, hereby
1805. mutually give, etc., to each other and the survivor of them, the
debts, money, arrears of life-rent, and other annuities and capital
stock in the public funds of Great Britain, France, or those of any other King-
dom or Republic or State, etc. And whereas in 1801 they executed a deed con-
veying the same to Michael Francis Cosnard Du Park, born in the city of
Constance, Department of La Manche, Republic of France, etc., and whereas
since that period the said Michael has behaved very ill to them, they hereby
revoke the said will, etc., and these presents alone are their last will, etc., and
shall be effectual after their deaths.
Dated at Edinburgh 4th March, 1805.
(Signed) GIONI XAVERIO TREMAMONDO,
MARIE FRANCOISE JUSTINE TREMAMONDO DUBOURC.
It does not appear who Michael Francis Cosnard Du Park
was — some relation probably of Mrs. Angelo. Besides his
daughter by Marie Dubourgh I take it that John Angelo of
Edinburgh had also a son by a former alliance contracted in
Italy, as to which see postea under Anthony Angelo Tremamondo.
IV. LEONARD MARIA TREMAMONDO. He was born
as we have seen at Leghorn on 6 September, i?25> being the
fifth son of Giacomo Tremamondo, and the fourth of the
c four brothers ' mentioned by Henry Angelo in his Reminis-
cences as having come within his knowledge. That he followed
Domenick to England and became his brother's superinten-
dent at the establishment in Carlisle Street is practically certain.
For some reason in 1777 he sought to better his fortunes and
applied therefore to the East India Company for a passage to
Calcutta, as recorded in the following entract : —
29 Jan. 1777. Petition of Mr. Leonardo Angelo to proceed to Bengal to
teach the arts of Riding and Fencing.
ORDERED that the same be not granted (Directors' Court Minutes, India
Office).'
He reappears in 1785 as a witness at his niece Caroline's
» It is to be supposed that his request was not granted on account of his age.
Leonard was then over fifty.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 41
marriage to Captain St. Leger, signing himself ' Leonardo
Tremamondo,' but he is not a witness to Catherine's marriage
in 1790, and his subsequent history is as yet unknown.
ANTHONY ANGELO TREMAMONDO.— We have seen
that the elder Angelo's usual signature was Domenico Angela
Tremamondo, and that his brother John of Edinburgh figured
as Angela Tremamondo. We have now to take up the story of
Antonio Angelo Tremamondo.
When John Xavier Tremamondo and Leonard Maria
Tremamondo followed their brother Domenick to England
some time anterior to the year 1760 they probably brought in
their train a young boy, Antonio Angelo Tremamondo, born
abroad in the year 1747-8. This boy grew up of the house-
hold of Domenick in Soho, and, having received a thorough
training in scientific horsemanship, he lived to become official
Riding Master to the army of Bengal, and to introduce into
India precisely those methods of riding, breaking and training
cavalry horses which had won the approval of Lord Pem-
broke, and which Domenick Angelo had also imparted to the
representative riding masters from the various regiments who
had come up to him for instruction. As this boy also lived
to become the founder of that branch of the Angelo family
which in every generation since has given of its sons to serve
with distinction in our Indian army, he ranks in the pedigree
next in importance after Domenick himself, and becomes an
object of more than ordinary interest. Unfortunately the
place of his birth I have not yet discovered, while even the
name of his father has been a matter of some uncertainty. It
is well known however that 'he was the son of one of the
three brothers who settled in England, that he was born
in Italy and that his mother's name was Pescara.' l This
lady claimed kindred indeed with the princely house of
Di Pescara, one of the oldest and noblest families of Italy,
whose name often figures in the history of Europe,
and one of whom, a Marquis of Pescara, commanded the
armies of Charles V. and defeated Francis I. at the battle
of Pavia.1 From such an illustrious stock on his mother's
side was Anthony Angelo's mother said, whether rightly or
1 Family Evidences pents Miss B. Angelo.
42 THE ANCESTOR
wrongly, to be descended. And his father, { whom he well re-
membered to have taken him from time to time when a boy
to Holland House to see the Foxes with whom the Angelos
were on terms of intimacy,'1 was doubtless John Angelo after-
wards so famous as the Master of the Royal Academy of
Exercises at Edinburgh already spoken of. Anthony Angelo
is one of the very few members of his family mentioned by
Henry Angelo in his veracious pages. Referring to Zoffany
he says : —
Though advanced in years he went to India where he met with my
cousin, Captain Angelo, who was in the Body Guard, and who at that time
was particularly patronized by Governor Hastings. My cousin and Zoffany
were on the most intimate terms (Reminiscence!).
Years before that however, when in 1 763 John Angelo went
north with his new French wife to win the plaudits of the Scots
by feats of horsemanship on his coal-black charger, almost as
marvellous as those performed by Domenick on his famous
white steed ' Monarch,' he seems to have left the young
Anthony behind him in charge of his prosperous and more
distinguished brother.
At thematie'ge of Domenick Angelo, Anthony must have been
in the constant habit of meeting people good for him to know.
Among these there were two who ultimately became warmly
attached to him, and who remained his fast friends to the end.
These were Warren Hastings and Zoffany the Royal Acade-
mician. The former was at home for well-earned rest between
1764 and 1769, the very time when Domenick's star was most
resplendent, and must have been a frequent visitor, in common
with other notabilities, to Carlisle Street. Zoffany was a great
friend of Domenick. ' Often have I seen Zoffany at my
father's table in Carlisle Street,' writes Henry in his Reminis-
cences, and2 it was Zoffany who with his own hands adorned
the walls of Domenick's ' villa ' at Acton.3 All these three —
Warren Hastings, Zoffany and Anthony Angelo — were destined
to meet again, and play their parts in Bengal. Warren Hast-
ings returned to Madras in 1769 and went on to Calcutta as
first Governor-General of India in 1773. Anthony Angelo
followed his friend in 1778, embarking some time in the late
spring. He did not go without high recommendation, and
1 Family Evidences penes Miss B. Angelo.
2 Vol. ii. 107. 3 Ibid.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 43
the tradition in the family that the Prince of Wales himself
(afterwards George IV.) smiled on his fortunes is probably
founded on fact, if His Royal Highness' youthful passion for
Sophie Angelo was also a fact, or indeed in any case, since all
the Angelos everlastingly basked in the sunshine of royal
favour. There is at the India Office no evidence to show
that Anthony sailed in any official capacity. On the contrary
the evidence there would suggest that he went as a private in-
dividual, because in the records of the old East India Com-
pany it is stated that in December, 1781, Lieutenant A.
Tremamondo had permission to send 100 moidores by the
hands of the captain of the Swallow to Europe. One hundred
moidores were the equivalent of £130, which was about the
cost of a passage to India in those days, and that sum so sent
was perhaps a refund of his own passage-money to Domenick
or to his father, John Angelo of Edinburgh.
But if Anthony Angelo went out as a private individual,
he did not arrive as a mere adventurer. There can be no
doubt whatever about his credentials — that he was backed by
unusually high interest. He at once became the protegt not
merely of Warren Hastings himself, but even of the Governor-
General's enemies in the Council, who were only too ready to
seize any opportunity to harass and thwart the great pro-consul,
but who deigned to smile on Anthony Angelo. There is a
Bengal Army List of the year 1778 still extant in the India
Office, which shows that ' Anthony Angelo Tremamondo ' had
become cadet, ensign and lieutenant, apparently by cumulative
act, by the month of December very soon after he had landed
in the country. But what is more remarkable is that the
Governor-General in Council created a special appointment of
a lucrative character in Angelo's favour,1 besides granting him
a large tract of land in the Chowringee suburb of Calcutta.
Thus immediately on or soon after his arrival we find him first
with an assured status as an officer of the Body Guard, and next
in the receipt of a large official income in addition to his
ordinary pay, which, with the substantial earnings of his manage,
enabled him to return to England in a few years with a hand-
some fortune — one of Fortune's favourites who had shaken
the pagoda-tree to some purpose.
1 His income as Riding Master to the Army alone was 1,500 rupees a month,
or over £2,000 a year.
44 THE ANCESTOR
But it is time for the Voices of the Past to take up the
story themselves. The following copies were taken by me
first hand from the original records in Calcutta or at the India
Office, and scarcely need comment.1
I. FROM THE INDIA OFFICE
24th July, 1 780 (Calcutta). Lieut. Tremamondo — Read a letter as follows
from Lieutenant Tremamondo : —
HONBLE. SIRS, — The very great favour you have already shown me to confer
on me a Grant of Land for the purpose of erecting a Riding School (on the plan
of those in Europe) impresses me with the deepest gratitude.
The extraordinary encouragement it has met with by the increase of scholars,
and applications from all parts for training and breaking horses, at the same time
that it evinces the real benefit and advantage of the undertaking, renders it in-
dispensably necessary to solicit a further Grant of Land to the northward, not
exceeding two beggabs. I have endeavoured to deserve the high mark of favour
received by the unwearied zeal and diligence I have given to the plan, which I
trust will hereafter become useful to the country by laying a foundation for the
improvement of the Cavalry of Bengal.
I have, etc.,
ANCELO TREMAMONDO.
May 30, 1780.
AGREED that a space of 80 feet north of the north range of Mr. Angelo Tre-
mamondo's Stables and running in a parallel line East and West of the East Ditch
of the Road leading to the Court House, and ending at the Ditch opposite the
house formerly occupied by the Commander-in-Chief be granted, etc., etc.
(Bengal Public Consultations).
loth October, 1780. Read the following letter from Mr. Angelo Trema-
mondo : —
HONBLE. SIR AND SIRS, — I beg leave humbly to submit the following out-
line of a Proposal for the better Training of all the Cavalry on the Bengal
Establishment.2
I will be ready to receive two Troopers out of each separate Troop of the
three Regiments of Cavalry, and to instruct them correctly in the Art of Riding,
agreeable to the Principles (recommended by LORD PEMBROKE) the most ap-
proved in Europe, and universally adopted in every Regiment of Cavalry, as well
Horse as Light Dragoons. I will undertake to qualify the said Troopers of the
different Corps to train their Cavalry Horses exactly conformable to the above
method of the Armies in Europe, enabling them on their return to join their
1 Angelo's first application for land for his manage, with the deliberations
of Council thereupon, no longer exist. All such documents at Calcutta anterior
to the year 1780 or thereabouts were ordered to be destroyed by the late
General Chesney (as I was informed) when he was in control at Calcutta.
2 It can scarcely be a coincidence that the next year (1781) Domenick in
London made a similar proposal to Government for the instruction of the Horse
Artillery at Woolwich, a proposal which was seconded by Lord Pembroke in a
letter dated 1 6 July, 1781 (Reminiscences').
ANN CAKOIIM; AMIEI.O
(Mi;.. \V. Sr. LECEK)
n D.M'iiHTI.K "I DoMKMCK.
i il
I' I'iKKI.I ,\ Sol-HIA As<:l.l.n C.I Kii.N,
•MSI ]i, \IT.I1 IKK OF Do.MKMc K.
t a iniittatiat
THE ANGELO FAMILY 45
respective Corps, to instruct the rest of the Troopers belonging thereto, to ride,
break, and train their own horses in the same manner, and in short to make them
perfect Masters of the Art of Riding.
The Reward for effecting a Service that must require very great Labour and
Perseverance I humbly submit to the Consideration of your Honble. Board.
Should this Proposal meet with Approbation, and obtain me the Appointment of
Riding Master to the Army, I shall make it my Constant Duty to execute it with
unremitting Perseverance, Activity, and Zeal.
I have the honour, etc., etc.
(Signed) A. ANCELO TREMAMONDO.
28/6 Sept. 1780.
THE GOVERNOR GENERAL (Warren Hastings). I recommend that Mr.
Angelo's Proposal be referred to the Commander-in-Chief for his opinion, and
cheerfully give my consent to the proposal of it, if it should obtain his Appro-
bation.
AGREED, etc. (Ibid.)
13 Oct. 1780. The Secretary informs the Board that in Conformity
with this order of the loth inst. he referred the proposal made by Mr. Angelo
Tremamondo to the Commander-in-Chief, who has no objection.
AGREED to Mr. Angelo Tremamondo's Proposal that he be appointed Riding
Master to the Army.
ORDERED that the amount of Salary to Mr. Angelo be deferred for future
Consideration (Ibid.)
[On 31 October, 1780, there is a letter from Lieutenant
Tremamondo requesting that necessary orders might be
issued to the different corps of cavalry to send down two
troopers from each to the manage to receive instruction.]
1st Feb. 1781. Lieutenant Angelo Tremamondo, having by the Boards'
Resolution of 1 3th October been appointed Riding Master to the Army,
and directed to train the Cavalry in this Establishment, the Salary to be allowed
him on this account having been ordered to lie for further Consideration, it is
now agreed that he be permitted to draw a Salary of 1,500 Sanaut Rupees per
mensem, and ordered that the same be paid him accordingly by the Military
Paymaster General (Ibid.)
i gth March, 1781. Read the following Letter from Lieutenant Angelo
Tremamondo : —
HONBLE. SIR AND SIRS, — [He reports that the Troopers arrived on the 1st
February for Instruction, and requests orders for their horses to be brought, or
an equal number to be bought in Calcutta.] The usual allowance for doathing,
feeding, and quartering these Men and Horses will, I hope, be allowed me by the
Honble. Board.
I have the honour to be, etc.,
(Signed) A. A. TREMAMONDO.
CALCUTTA, lf,th March, 1781.
AGREED that Lieutenant Angelo Tremamondo be authorized to purchase
horses for the Troopers that have lately arrived to receive his Instructions,and
that he be directed to report to the Board how many and the Prices.
D
46 THE ANCESTOR
ORDERED that the Commander-in-Chief be desired to inform the Board
what he deems a proper and a fit allowance to Lieutenant Angelo for feeding
and quartering the men and horses (Ibid.)
2. COPIED IN CALCUTTA
[On 19 March, 1781, the Commander-in-Chief (General
Stibbert) sent a return of the strength of the ' new raised troop
of cavalry, and recommended that the men and horses required
to complete the troop should be sent to Mr. Tremamondo for
instructions.']
Minutes of Council, 19 March, 1781. A Troop of Cavalry having been lately
ruined by the voluntary Contributions of the European Inhabitants of the Pre-
sidency for the service of the present [Mahratta] War,1 AGREED that Captain
James Salt be appointed to the command of it, and ORDERED that it do join the
Detachment in the Field under the command of Colonel Ironside.
ORDERED that the number of men and horses required to complete the troop
be placed under the command of Lieutenant Angelo Tremamondo until such
time as they are qualified to fill it.
[On 22 March, 1781, there was a letter from Lieu-
tenant Angelo Tremamondo informing the Board that the
number of horses required for the service should be equal to
the number of men, namely twenty-six.]
Ibid. 2 April, 1781. I European Sergeant, 2 Duffadars, and 23 private
Moguls being instructed by Lieutenant Angelo Tremamondo, ORDERED that the
Military Paymaster be directed to pay him, etc., etc.
ORDERED that the horses purchased for the Troopers be mustered and en-
rolled with those of the Governor General's Body Guard, and that they remain
under the distinct charge of Lieutenant Tremamondo.
Ibid, the same date, 2 April, 1781. ORDERED that they be returned on the
strength of the Governor General's Body Guard and drawn for accordingly.
ORDERED that the Paymaster General do advance to Lieutenant Trema-
mondo for providing stables for D° the sum of 1 3 rupees per man, each horse,
etc., etc.
3. FROM THE INDIA OFFICE
4th December, 1781 (Calcutta). Lieutenant A. Tremamondo requests Per-
mission to send 100 Moidores by Order to Europe. Granted. (Ibid.)
aoth February, 1784. Read a letter from Lieutenant Angelo Tremamondo
as follows : —
HONBLE. SIR AND SIRS, — Encouraged by the Patronage, etc., I take the
Liberty, etc. I arrived in Bengal in the latter end of the Year 1778, intending,
if I should meet encouragement, to follow my Profession of a Riding Master.
I was so fortunate as to find that the Institution of a Public Manege seemed to
meet the Approbation as well of the Settlement in General as of your Honble.
1 The names of the inhabitants who furnished the horses were ordered to be
entered on the Records.
THE ANGELO FAMILY
47
Board. Many Gentlemen were eager to become my Pupils, and your Honble.
Board was pleased to favour me with the Grant of a Piece of Ground for the
express and sole Purpose of erecting on it a Manege. I lost no time in construct-
ing the proper Buildings, and within the space of one Year had the Satisfaction
to see them finished. I had soon several Pupils, and had besides the Happiness
to receive from your Honble. Board the Appointment of Riding Master to the
Army with the Salary of 1,500 Rupees per month. I can venture to assert that
no Activity, Diligence, or Attention was wanting on my Part to deserve the liberal
Encouragement with which I had been honored. A variety of other Causes,
however, soon conspired to lessen the number of my Pupils. The Novelty of
the Institution had ceased, the Exercise was found by some too violent for the
Climate, many of the Gentlemen most disposed to persevere were obliged to leave
Calcutta, others, in the Civil Service, were prevented from attending by the
Duties of their Office, and the Junior Part of the Army to whom the Art of Riding
was a most essential Part of Education,were in general unable to bear the Expense
necessarily attending its Attainment. From these and other Causes my School
declined. For many Months I had only one Pupil, and now I have only Three.
The Honble. Board besides have found it necessary among their other Retrench-
ments to annihilate the Appointment of Riding Master to the Army. The
Manege, with the Stable, Dwelling House, and other necessary Buildings, notwith-
standing the strictest economy was observed in their Construction, cost 80,000
Rupees, the whole of which I was under the Necessity of borrowing, and though
for these many months past the profits of the Manege have been greatly unequal
to the necessary expenses of it, I have considered myself as bound by my implied
Engagements with the Public and the Board to keep up the former and usual
Establishment of Servants and Horses.
In this situation I look up for Relief to your Honble. Board, from whence
alone I can hope to receive it, and earnestly request that you will be pleased to
annul the Conditions annexed to the former Grant of the Ground, and give me
new Pottahs (grants or leases) of it under the same rent, but with permission to
build on it as many Dwelling Houses as I shall think proper. I do not expect
this indulgence will by any means re-imburse the money which I have expended
in the erection of the Manege, but I take the Liberty of soliciting it in preference
to any other mode of relief, because it seems the least liable to objection.
I have the honour to be, etc.,
(Signed) A. ANGILO TREMAMONDO.
FORT WILLIAM,
\2th February, 1784.
THE GOVERNOR GENERAL (Warren Hastings). Having, on Public Grounds,
afforded Mr. Angelo every assistance that my Example and Countenance could
produce, while he had a prospect of gaining a livelihood by his Profession, I now
recommend his present Application to the Indulgence of the Board, that the
Ground originally assigned for the purpose of a Manege be granted him absolutely
and a new Pottah granted for the Same.
MR. WHELER. As the Ground on which Mr. Angelo's Riding House and
Stables are erected have become his sole property subject to a particular re-
striction mentioned in the Pottah or Grant, which Restriction if not taken off
would entail a public Nuisance to the Town of Calcutta in Perpetuity, I am very
happy in the Opportunity of freeing the Inhabitants of that Part of the Town
48 THE ANCESTOR
from the Inconvenience they are at present subjected to by his Stables and
Riding House, and therefore agree with the Governor General that such Pottah
shall be granted, empowering Mr. Angelo to convert the Ground already granted
to him to more useful purposes.
MR. STABLES. I agree to comply with Mr. Tremamondo's request, that the
Town may be relieved from the present Nuisance (Ibid.)
Ibid. 23rd February, 1784. Lieutenant A. Tremamondo encloses a List of
Horses belonging to his Detachment (i.e. of the Body Guard) at the Manege.
He cannot tell what they sold for, having delivered them by Order to Lieutenant
A. Murray, Quarter Master of Cavalry.
LIST of Horses for the Governor General belonging to the Detachment of
the Body Guard at the Manege : —
Received from the Honble. Company, Horses — 26.
Dead, January 23rd, 1782, a Bay Horse
February 4th, , a Grey „
1 5th,
March 1 6th,
29th,
April 1 6th,
a Bay
a Bay
a Dun
a Sorell
6
Delivered to Lieut. Murray, Quarter Master of Cavalry ... 20
Total of Horses received from the Honble. Company .... 26
(Signed) ANCELO TREMAMONDO,
Lieutenant. (Ibid.)
2 1st February, 1785. Read Letter from the Commander-in-Chief : —
GENTLEMEN, — At the Request of Lieutenant Anthony Angelo Tremamondo
I do myself the honour to lay before you the accompanying Letter soliciting Per-
mission to resign the Service and proceed to Europe on the Corntoallis for the
purpose of settling his private Affairs, etc.
In the Station Lieutenant Tremamondo filled as a Lieutenant in the Gover-
nor's Troop and Riding Master to the Army, his Conduct, I must obserre, has
been satisfactory and creditable.
I have, etc.,
(Signed) G. STIBBERT.
FORT WILLIAM,
17*4 February, 1785. (Ibid.)
In his own letter Lieutenant Tremamondo expresses his
intention to return when his affairs have been adjusted, and
wishes his intention to be expressed to the Honourable Court
of Directors in such terms as may facilitate his restoration to
the Service.
He expresses a lively sense of gratitude and best wishes for
the Board's success in affairs.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 49
He signs himself in full : —
'ANTHONY ANGELO TREMAMONDO,
Lieutenant.'
4. COPIED IN CALCUTTA
Minutes of Council, 21 February, 1785. AGREED that Lieutenant Anthony
Angelo Tremamondo be permitted to resign the Service and proceed to Europe
for the purpose of settling his Private Affairs.
So closed Anthony Angelo's connection with the Governor-
General's Body Guard and the army of Bengal. He left his
mark, and his mark remains on the cavalry forces of our
Indian empire to this day.
And here it may not be amiss to mention that the Body
Guard in which Anthony Angelo held a commission was
originally raised in 1773, when Warren Hastings first took
up the reins as Governor-General of British India. Its first
commanding officer was Captain Toone, who resigned com-
mand of the troop on 27 January, 1777, and who was
succeeded by Captain Horton Briscoe.1 Retiring to Eng-
land in broken health Toone settled at Bath, from which
place he kept up an interesting correspondence with Warren
Hastings.2 As a troop the Body Guard has been on active
service in the course of its history only once, and that was
in the Rohilla campaign in the time of Warren Hastings.3
I believe it was Anthony Angelo's rosy descriptions of
oriental possibilities that induced his old friend Zoffany, the
once famous painter, to follow him to Bengal in 1781, where,
at Calcutta and subsequently at the Court ofOude, he amassed
a large fortune, returning to England in 1786. In Calcutta
traces of Zoffany are still to be found, notably in the large
altar-piece which he painted for ' The Old Church ' — the
church of St. John — and which is now preserved against the
wall in the west gallery. It is a glowing Rubens-like picture
of the Last Supper, an enormous canvas, exhibiting in the
faces of Christ and the Apostles portraits of the principal Eng-
lish merchants, or others, resident in Calcutta at the time.
An amusing story is told of one of them, namely that there
was then in Calcutta a certain European, an auctioneer, en-
dowed with the face of a malefactor, who sat for the Judas
1 Calcutta Records.
8 Letters in original in B.M.
3 India Office Records.
5o THE ANCESTOR
in the fond belief that he was personating St. John, the Be-
loved Disciple. When the picture was set up, his amaze-
ment at the trick played upon him was equalled only by his
indignation, for a more sinister expression of face no one
could imagine. Hence his soubriquet, 'Judas Iscariot,' a
nickname which was revived for the benefit of a certain gallant
officer on the north-west frontier of India more than a genera-
tion ago.
Warren Hastings quitted India for ever in February, 1785.
The Cornwallis sailed in March, but Anthony Angelo's private
affairs in Calcutta must have detained him till June or later.
In the Calcutta Gazette of 6, 13, 20 and 27 May, 1785, copies
of which are in the British Museum, I find a notice headed —
PRIVATE SALE — All the ground and buildings of the Riding School, Cal-
cutta, etc. — Apply to Mr. Angelo Tremamondo.
I do not know where Anthony spent the two years inter-
vening between his return and the date of his marriage, but 1
suspect he was part of the time at any rate with his friends in
Edinburgh. Some time after his arrival in London however
he established himself in a house, then numbered 22, now 43
or 45, in Howland Street, Fitzroy Square, in the parish of St.
Pancras, within a very short distance of Domenico's house in
Carlisle Street, and there he married and lived in good style.
His wife was a charming young lady, a minor, less than half
his own age. They were married so quietly that not one of
his relations was present at the wedding, the only witnesses
being the old rector of St. Pancras and the pew-opener. The
following is from a certified copy from the register :—
(OLD ST. PANCRAS). — ANTONIUS, or ANTHONY, ANGELO TREMAMONDO a
Bachelor of this Parish, and Elizabetha MARTHA BLAND, also of this Parish,1 a
Minor, with the consent of Jane Bland, the lawful Mother of the said Minor,
were married in this Church by Licence (B.L.) this twenty seventh Day of July
in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty Seven by me,
E. WHITAKER, Curate.
This marriage was solemnized between us : —
ANTHONY ANGELO TREMAMONDO,
ELIZABETHA MARTHA BLAND.
In the Presence of —
BENJ. MENCE,
MARY MORGAN.
1 Mrs. Bland must have lived in apartments, as her name is not in the list of
householders in the Rate Books.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 51
But though married so quietly, Elizabetha Martha Bland
came of a very interesting and romantic stock. Her father
was Edward Bland,1 and if so (as I have been informed)
the following entry from the registers of St. Martin's-in-the-
Fields will refer to her : —
BAPTISMS. 1 767, Sept. 27. Martha Bland, (d.) of Edward and Jane (Bland).
(Born) Sept. 12.
If, as alleged, this is the baptismal register of Anthony
Angelo Tremamondo's wife, it will be noticed that by the day
of her marriage she had acquired the added name of Eliza-
betha. To be sure it would have been quite in the delightful
old Angelo manner to glorify the homely ' Martha ' with the
stately ' Elizabetha,' but I am not convinced that the two
entries refer to the same individual.2 Whether or not, she was
at least a grand-daughter of John Bland, who was the son
of Nathaniel Bland, Doctor of Laws, and Judge of the
Prerogative Court of Dublin.3 The story of his service
in Bland's Dragoons (now the 3rd King's Hussars), how he
fought at Dettingen, how he was made a prisoner by the
French at Fontenoy, and took part in repressing the Jacobite
rebellion of 1745, how he met West Digges the player and
went on the stage, how his offended friends came and hissed
him off, how he became joint lessee of the Edinburgh Theatre
with Digges in 1772-3, how he retired in 1778, having been
for twenty-three years a prime favourite in Edinburgh, how he
wrote a novel, Frederick the Forsaken, and how lastly he died in
poverty, belong to the history of the British stage which he
adorned so well. He had two brothers, the Reverend James
Bland of Derryquin Castle, co. Waterford, and Francis Bland of
Killarney, who married the actress, ' Mrs. Francis,' who was a
Miss Grace Phillips, daughter of the Reverend Dr. Phillips of
Waterford. These two had issue a Mr. George Bland who
was with Kemble, and that consummate artist, second only to
Siddons, Dorothea Bland, ' Miss Francis,' best known by her
later stage-name of c Mrs. Jordan,' the mother of the children
of His Majesty William IV., and a great-grandmother of
the present Duke of Argyll, husband of the Princess Louise.
» An Edward Bland lived in Spur Street, Soho, his house rated at £48 a year
(true rent, £52) (Rate Books).
3 They do, and Anthony's will; to be presently quoted^ shows that his
wife's name was Martha only.
3 From a printed pedigree of the Angelo family.
52
THE ANCESTOR
George Bland of Kemble's Company more than once acted
Sebastian to his sister's Viola at Drury Lane.1 He married
Miss Romanzini, also of Drury Lane, in 1790,° who in 1792
crowned him with twin children.3 I cannot tell if (Elizabetha)
Martha Bland ever graced the stage herself. Pretty, charming
and accomplished as she was, she might well have done so
with so much talent and interest to recommend her, and it
is not unlikely, as I find that in April, 1787, some months
before Anthony Angelo's marriage, a 'Miss Francis ' was
acting at the Haymarket.* Be that as it may, the short pedi-
gree following will show her connection with her celebrated
cousin, ' Mrs. Jordan,' and through her with Mrs. Jordan's
royal offspring.
PEDIGREE 4
The Very Reverend James Bland, Dean of Ardfert
Nathaniel Bland, LL.D., Judge, Prerogative Court, Dublin
Capt. John Bland of Rev. Jas. Bland Francis Bland of Killarney = Grace Phillips
Bland's Dragoons of Derryquin (by a 2nd wife) (N. & Q. I ('Mrs. Francis')
and the Theatre Castle ser. 9, xii. 277)
Royal, Edinburgh |
II T
Edward Bland=Jane George Bland of Dorothea Bland, first
Drury Lane ' Miss Francis,' and
—Miss Romanzini, subsequently 'Mrs.
1790 Jordan*
(Elizabetha) Martha=Anthony Angelo George, first Earl of
Bland, mar. Tremamondo, Munster, eldest son
27 July, 1787 b. 1747, d. 1829 of William IV.
The following names may also refer to members of the
family of Elizabetha Martha Bland, though the records are too
meagre to furnish a theory of themselves : —
1 For all these details about the Blands consult A History of the Bland Family,
by Carlisle (copy in the Library of the Society of Antiquaries) ; D.N.B. ;
N. and Q., ser. 9, xii. 207 ; Dibdin's Annals of the Edinburgh Stage, pp. 139, 170,
173~S ! Genealogical Magazine,No. 12, April, 1898, p. 692; Angelo War Ser-
vices (1903).
2 G.M. p. 956.
3 Ibid. 1792.
4 Genest's History of the Stage, vi. 453.
s.
o
f-
-s.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 53
BURIALS (Old St. Pancras')
Sept. 28, 1772, Frances Bland.
Oct. 26, 1774, John Bland (child).
May 10, 1777, John Bland (child).
Aug. 2, 1778, Charles Bland.
Oct. I, 1780, John Bland.
Nov. 7, 1782, Ann Bland.
In Rowland Street, Fitzroy Square, St. Pancras, Anthony
Angelo Tremamondo lived close to the open fields, where now
are to be seen only bricks and mortar, up to the year 1 806,
and there most of his children were born. The St. Pancras'
Rate Books afford us glimpses of him year by year and quarter
by quarter. I make two extracts as follows : —
ST. PANCRAS
Year 1797. Rowland Street, South Side, Poor Rate (u. in the £).
22 I 56 Ant" Angelo I II I £i 8/. od.
\ " For Paving Rate 60. I I
That is, the number of his house is 22, he pays two
quarters ('II '), namely 285., which is at the rate of 56.$. for
the year on his rateable value ^56 at is. in the £i. But
for paving rate his rateable value is j£6o. Rates are never
paid on the full rent. If we suppose he was allowed off one
eighth for the poor rate and one sixteenth for the paving rate
(which was the case), his true rent must have been £64 a year,
which represents at that time a good house and a good
locality.
Here is another extract showing that he was still living in
St. Pancras in 1 804 — in fact he remained there until after his
daughter Matilda's birth in 1 805, when he moved to Maryle-
bone : —
ST. PANCRAS
1804. Rowland Street, South Side : —
22 | 60 | Ant" Angelo I n I £i los. od.
Reduced on application (being Poor Rate) to £56
Anthony Angelo's portrait when he was about forty,
painted at the time of his marriage by his old friend Zoffany,
shows that he had then become stout, but it exhibits the real
Angelo face with features strikingly like those of both the
brothers Domenick and John Angelo. That of his wife, on
the other hand, done at the same time by the same artist, is a
very youthful presentment of a slender girl, a face delicate and
54 THE ANCESTOR
refined, rather of the aquiline type, with beautiful eyes, carrying
that air of distinction for which her sons when serving in
India were so remarkable, and which has descended to some
of her representatives of the present generation. The match
between these two was in every way happy, as happy as that
of Domenick and Elizabeth Johnson, as cloudless as that of
Garrick and his Viennese wife, Mrs. Domenick Angelo's
1 dearest friend ' — the whilom opera-dancer of Drury Lane, the
beautiful Eva Maria Violetti : —
Her body all grace and all sweetness her mind,
as in eulogistic verse one of her admirers described her in
1750. To Anthony, after his labours in hot steamy Calcutta,
the sweetness of the home to which he had retired on an in-
come ample for every reasonable need must have been
grateful indeed, and with one of old he might have ex-
claimed : —
Inveni portum — Spes et Fortuna, valete !
Such a life, however, in its otiose retirement, is all too calm
and still to afford much matter for biography. And yet the
baptismal records of his children at St. Patrick's Church,
Soho Square afford us unexpected glimpses of his serene
home, and of the character and position of some at least of the
numerous friends who used to visit him and to enjoy his
hospitality in Rowland Street. Among them we find mention
made of Warren Hastings and his wife Martha, of Gavin
Hamilton, Zoffany, General Benoit de Boigne, and especially
of congenial friends of the operatic or dramatic stage.
Let us look at those registers. At that period Father
Gaffy was the priest at the church of St. Patrick, which was
founded in 1791 or 1792 on the site of the once notorious
Mrs. Cornely's Carlisle house. It stood exactly opposite the
other Carlisle house, just across the square, in which Domenick
and his gentle wife lived and reigned with so much distinction
and so much social success for forty years (1763— 1802). When
Anthony Angelo in 1 806 moved his residence from St. Pan-
eras to Marylebone, from Howland Street to Newman Street,
Father Gaffy must have transcribed the baptismal records of
twelve of Anthony's children, from loose memoranda very pro-
bably, into the church register, and in the very beginning of
THE ANGELO FAMILY 55
the book he made a note in his own handwriting to serve as an
index-note thus : —
Duodecim proles Dom. Angelo invenientur pag. 349-350.
As proles usually means descendants, and as Dom. looks
suspiciously like an abbreviation of Dominici, this entry at
first was rather disconcerting. It looked so much as though
Father Gaffy had meant to say — ' Twelve descendants of (the
famous) Domenick Angelo (then dead three or four years)
will be found on pages 349-350.' I doubt not now however
that the good priest's sentence was intended to read, ' Duode-
cim proles Domini Angelo,' etc., that is to say, c Twelve children
of Mr. Angelo will be found on pages 349-350.' And though
Dominus in ecclesiastical Latin is the honorific for a priest
rather than for a layman, that of course is the only meaning
that fits in with the ascertained facts of the case.
Those baptismal registers are far too interesting not to be
quoted in full, and it will be most convenient to give them
here, in the original Latin, as they stand in the register book,
first of all however tendering to the good Fathers of St.
Patrick's my best thanks for their courtesy.
ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, SOHO SQUARE
1. 21 Nov. 1788. bapt". Maria f. Antonii Angelo Tremamondo et Eliza-
bethae Marthae Bland, Conjugum, Nata die 18 ejusdem mer. Patricii (Sponsors)
Georg. Liviez,1 Maria Liviez,' Francesca Corri.3
2. 18 Dec. 1789. Bapt". Ludovisa [Louisa] f. Antonii Angelo Tremamondo
et Eliz Marthx Bland, C. Nata 13 ejusdem m. Pat'1, Gavin Hamilton 4 et Fran-
cesca Corri. 3
1 Some of the more obvious words I abbreviate.
3 This was probably the famous dancer and ballet-master of Drury Lane and
his English wife, with whom Henry Angelo stayed in Paris, and who must have
returned to England to escape the horrors of the Revolution.
3 Francesca Corri was a celebrated mezzo-soprano singer of opera, etc. She
was a daughter of Natale Corri, the brother of Domenico Corri (1746-1825), the
great musical composer, and partner for two years of Dussek, who married his
daughter Sophia. They were Italians from Rome, who lived thirteen years in
Edinburgh (1774-87), after which, in the very year of Anthony's marriage,
they came and settled in London. In Edinburgh they must have been on
friendly terms with both the Angelos and the Elands. Domenico's most famous
work was The Traveller, or Music's Fascination (D.N.£.)
« Gavin Hamilton was the famous painter and excavator (died 1797) who
lived and worked for the most part in Italy. One of his sitters was the beautiful
Countess of Coventry — Miss Maria Gunning (D.N.B., and N. and Q. 10 Oct.
I903)-
56 THE ANCESTOR
3. 15 Feb. 1791. Bapt3 Rosalia f. Antonii Angelo Tremamondo et Eliz
Martha; Bland C. Nata II ejusdem m. Pat" Joh. Zoffany,» Rosalia Maggi,*^et
Maria Taylor.3
4. 3 Oct. 1792, bapt. Joannes Gulielmus Thomas Angelus f. Anton" Angelo
Tremamondo et Elizabeths Martha: Bland, C. Natus 29 Sept. precedu; Pat"
Joannes Gul. Rose, Eques,4 Dominicus Candidus Boyer " et Rosalia Maggi.2
5. 31 May 1795 Bapt. Antonius Edwardus Angelus f. Antonii (etc.) et Eliza-
beths (etc.) conj. Natus 30 ejusdem m. Pat" Edwardus Maxwel Brown,6 et
Isabella Greive.7
6. 10 Aug. 1797 Bapt. Warren Hastings Bennet f. Antonii (etc.) et Elizabeths
i John Zoffany, the Royal Academician. Died 1810. Zoffany and Gains-
borough both rest in the historic churchyard of Kew.
3 Rosalia Maggi. Francesca Corri had a sister named Rosalia, also a public
singer, though not so famous. This is probably she under her married name.
Possibly these Maggis were connected with the family of Carlo Maggi, a famous
Milanese sonneteer of the seventeenth century, some of whose sonnets were
translated into English (D.N.B.).
3 Mary Taylor — perhaps Mary the wife of Thomas Taylor the Platonist,
who was a familiar figure in Soho. Their son, Thomas Proclus Taylor, wrote
for the stage (N. and Q. ser. 7, ix. 194). Or she may be identified with Mrs.
Taylor, a well-known actress of the time at Drury Lane (Genest's History of
the Stage).
* John William Rose. A Domenick Rose was living in Poland Street, Soho,
in 1758 (Rate Books). Dr. William Rose, famous for his Translations of Sallust,
kept a flourishing school at Chiswick, which Henry Angelo attended before going
to Eton. I do not know if these three Roses were slips of the same Rose, or
of different Roses.
5 Domenick White Boyer. There were several Boyers in the service of the
E. I. Company. Thus, Cornelius Boyer, C.B., went out as a cadet in 1799.
« Edward Maxwel Brown. This is another witness whom I have not had the
time to identify.
i Isabella Greive of Soho Square was the wife of Davidson Richard Greive,
once of co. Northumberland. She died 15 November, 1827, aged 78 (tablet
in church). Her husband was the notorious revolutionist, and persecutor of
Madame Dubarry. He was a son of Richard Greive (or Grieve), an attorney of
Alnwick in co. Northumberland, and Elizabeth Davidson. The writer in the
D.N.B. infers that he never was married. Evidently he was, and either he had
abandoned his wife or she had renounced him. He died at Brussels 22 February,
1809 (D.N.B).
THE ANGELO FAMILY 57
(etc.) conj. Natus 15 Aprilis prec. Pat" Warren Hastings, Eques,1 et Bennet
de Boyne, Generalis,' Martha Hastings, » et Matilda Angelo [sister].*
7- J7 Aug. 1798 Bapt. Cfcilia Cromy f. Antonii (etc.) et Elizabeth* (etc.)
conj. Natus 13 July prec. Pat" Michael Cromy « et Maria Angelo [sister].
8. 12 Ap. 1800. Bapt. Frederirus Josephus Joannes f. Antonii (etc.) et
Elizabeths (etc.) conj. Natus 26 Jan. prec. Susceptrix erat Anna Bennet.'
9. 13 July 1801, Bapt. Georgius Ricardus f. Antonii (etc.) et Elizabeths
(etc.) conj. Natus 20 Ap. prec. Pat11 Georgius de Liviez,7 Joannes Angelo [bro-
ther], Maria de Liviez et Ludovisa Angelo [sister].
10. 16 Aug. 1802. Bapt. Ricardus Fredericus f. Antonii (etc.) et Eliza-
beth* (etc.) conj. Natus 6 ejusdem m. Patu Fredericus Andree,' et Maria An-
gelo [sister].
11. 29 Jan. 1804, Bapt. Christina Caroletta Adalaida f. Antonii (etc.) et
Elizabethae (etc.) Nata 1 8 ejusd. m. (no godfathers entered).
12. 5 May 1805, Bapt. Matilda f. Antonii (etc.) et Elizabeth* (etc.) Nata
30 Ap. 1 805 Ceremonie suppl. die 1 5 Jan. 1 806. Pat" Antonius Angelo [brother]
et Maria Angelo [sister].
13. 21 Sept. 1806, Bapt. Gulielmus Josephus Angelus f. Antonii (etc.) et
Elizabethe (etc.) conj. Natus 18 ejusdem m. Pat,, Tosephus de la Nave,» et
Ludovisa Angelo [sister].
1 The great Governor-General of India (1732-1818).
> General Bennet Boyne. This is the famous General, Benoit La Borgue,
Count de Boigne, born at Chamberg in Savoy on 8 March 1751. After
serving in the French and Russian armies, he went to India, furnished with
letters from Lord Percy to Warren Hastings. For a time he was in the
Bodyguard of Lord Macartney at Madras (1778). Thence he went to
Calcutta in 1782, where he must have known Anthony Angelo. In 1783
he went to Lucknow, and in 1784 entered Scindia's service, retiring to
London in 1797 with a fortune of £400,000. There he married a young
girl, Eleonora Adele D'Osmond, daughter of the Marquis D'Osmond. They
separated in 1804, and he retired to Savoy, where he died on 21 June, 1830.
(Com-p ton's Military Adventurers, pp. 15-100)
' Martha, wife of Warren Hastings. Formerly the Baroness Imlioff.
« See record of her burial infra.
• Michael Cromy. There was a well-to-do family of this name living in
Soho. Thus a Robert Cromey had a house in Compton Street in i7aS(Rate
Books)
» Anna Bennet. When General Benoit de Boigne left India he brought
with him two children of his own by a Persian lady, the daughter of a
Persian Colonel. Their native names were Ali Bux and Bunco, changed at
baptism to Charles Alexander and Anna respectively. The former married
the daughter of a French nobleman. Bunoo (Banu, a lady of rank, the
favourite name of the Queen of the Fairies in Eastern romance, as Peri-banu\
under the name Anna Bennet, is the lady here mentioned. She died in
Paris in 1810. See Military Adventurers, p. 100 (1892).
7 See note 2 on p. 55.
» Frederick Andree. I have not identified this witness.
• Joseph de la Nave (Dellanave). This is also a witness I have not been able
to find.
58 THE ANCESTOR
14. II Sept. 1811, Georgiana Ludovisa Francesca f. Antonii (etc.) et Eliza-
beths (etc.) Nata 3 May 1811 Pat".^Georgius Templer,' Georgiana Riley' et
Maria Angelo Tremamondo [sister].
To these must be added the following two children from
Howland Street, whose baptismal registers are wanting : —
BURIALS (Sr. ANN'S, SOHO)
15. 5 Feb. 1794. Isabella Henrietta'Angelo, a child of six weeks from St.
Pancras. Died of convulsions and buried in the South Vault.
16. 28 Sept. 1797. Matilda Angelo, aged 10 years, from Howland St.,
Fitzroy Square. Died of decline, and^buried in the South Vault.3
And yet again to these we may possibly add yet another
son, namely,—
17. John Angelo, who reveals himself in the second of the
following two burial registers : —
ST. ANN'S, SOHO : BURIALS
(1) Angelo, William Joseph, a child from Marylebone. March igth, 1807.
(2) Angelo John, a child from Marylebone, March 23rd, 1 807.*
William Joseph is No. 13, above recorded, of Anthony
Angelo's children, and John was probably his twin brother.
Doubtless he was the more delicate child of the two, and, pri-
vately baptized, did not live for the supplementary public
service in the Roman Catholic church. Both these children
will have been interred in the south vault under St. Ann's.
Thus have we accounted for seventeen of the twenty-two
children whom (Elizabetha) Martha Bland is said to have borne
to her husband Anthony Angelo. The rest of them must,
I think, have been privately baptized, and, unrecorded, must
have died in first infancy.
With regard to Matilda, No. 16, she, poor little maid,
only a month before her death, had stood sponsor to her little
brother, Warren Hastings.
1 George Templer had been a friend of Anthony Angelo in Calcutta, where
he held the position of Transport Officer to the army of Bengal (India Office
Records).
3 Georgina Riley. There were two Rileys or Ryleys with whom this lady
may have been connected, Charles Riley the painter (1732-98) and Samuel
William Ryley the actor, and author of the Itinerant, or Memoirs of an Actor
(1759-1837) (D.N.B.)
3 The south vault was reserved for those whose friends could afford to pay
higher fees.
4 Unless this John Angelo was a son of George Frederick Angelo, who
lived in Great Portland Street (Memoranda Papers, Record Office)
THE ANGELO FAMILY 59
From the year 1806 Anthony Angelo and his family lived
at 74, Newman Street, Oxford Street, in the parish of Mary-
lebone, and there full of years he died in 1829.
DIED in Newman St. 2 October, 1829, aged 82, Anthony Angelo, Esqre.
(G.M. No. 99, p. 379).
His will at Somerset House bears date 21 January, 1828,
and it was proved 10 October, 1829. In it he names his wife
' Martha Angelo Tremamondo,' to whom he leaves his house
and all his effects, etc., etc., so long as she remains unmarried.
He speaks of an ' annuity of £880 from Lord Blessington, and
of another annuity of £264 from Sir William Polt.' He
mentions two of his ' sons, Captain John Angelo Tremamondo,
and Anthony Angelo Tremamondo,' and five daughters, namely,
* Maria, Rosalinda, Matilda, Ann, and Georgiana,' on whom he
settles ' £3,000 ' each. He appoints his ' wife, Martha Angelo
Tremamondo, Mary Angelo Tremamondo, spinster, and Rosa-
linda Helena Angelo Castell (wife of Jehosaphat Castell),' his
executors.
His friend Zoffany had predeceased him, and to mark his
admiration of his character had appointed him one of his
executors by his will which was made 22 April, 1805, and
proved 24 January, i8n,the two executors named being
1 Anthony Angelo Tremamondo of Howland St. in the Parish
of St. Pancras, and Charles Dumerque of Piccadilly.' * An-
thony's character like that of Domenico Angelo appears to
have been that of a high-minded gentleman, and his friend-
ship with Warren Hastings is confirmation strong that he was
in all respects most admirable.
His sons were all educated at St. Edmund's College,
Herts, and two of them were mixed up with a great out-
break there in 1 809. As soon as it was over, ' Mr. Angelo,*
considering that the matter had not been fairly dealt with by
the college authorities, convened a meeting of the parents at
his own house, but the dispute was settled amicably, the
president, Dr. Poynter, standing firm. One of Anthony
Angelo's autograph letters addressed to the parents still exists
at the school."
The whole of his sons had distinguished careers, and those
1 Somerset House Wills.
* College Evidences.
60 THE ANCESTOR
of his daughters who married, married well. Lack of space
precludes me from more than a brief account of his sons : —
i. JOHN ANGELO, formerly JOHN WILLIAM THOMAS ANGELO
TREMAMONDO, was admitted to the service of the East
India Company on 28 October, 1808, joining the 3rd
Light Cavalry of Bengal. It was characteristic of the
time that though in the service of the E. I. Company
he held also for a time a commission in a British
regiment. He is the John Angelo for whom his
father Anthony bought a cornetcy in the 22nd Light
Dragoons, to which he was gazetted on i May, 1810,
and a lieutenancy in the 24th Light Dragoons, to
which he was gazetted on 1 4 November, 1 8 1 1 . He
was strongly backed by General William St. Leger,
who testified to his high character. After four years
in the Company's service, he finally elected for India,
and his commission in the British cavalry was sold by
his father on 16 September, i8i3.1 On his return to
India from furlough in September 1717, he obtained
permission to drop the name of Tremamondo and to
be designated in future "John Angelo? After a brilliant
career of forty-five years, during which he served in
every campaign, played a conspicuous part in nearly
every action in India, the Punjab and Afghanistan,
under thrf*most distinguished captains of the age, he
retired in (it is said) 1853."
He married Eleanor, stated to have been a daugh-
ter of Major Neate, 57th Regiment, who was killed
at Corunna with Sir John Moore. Among his chil-
dren were two sons : —
(i) "John Anthony Angelo^ born in India 27 Octo-
ber, 1825.* Nominated by J. P. Muspratt,
Esq., at the recommendation of E. B. Fox,
Esq., he joined the Bengal (now Royal)
Artillery on 2 February, 1842, playing a
noble part in the Sutlej and Punjab cam-
1 Memo. Papers at the Record Office.
3 Only three of Anthony's sons were christened ' Angelo.' The rest had to
assume that name when it was decided by the family to discard the surname
Tremamondo and to use Angelo instead (Army Records, India Office)
s See his record in War Services of the Officers of the Army, ^Official Army
List, July, 1895. « Army Records.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 61
paigns and the Mutiny, and retiring to
Mussoorie for well earned rest i June,
i882.1
He married a daughter of Captain W.
Brookes, 75th Regiment, and had issue
four sons, of whom Colonel J. W. E.
Angelo commanded the I2th Bengal Infan-
try ; Lieutenant George Sephote Angelo, of
the 23rd Madras Light Infantry, perished
at Mandalay in the Burmah campaign of
1887 ; Harry Abercrombie Angelo, of the
Burmah Military Police, perished at Man-
dalay in the Burmah campaign of 1886 ;
and Raymond Digby, one of the handsomest
men in the Indian army, adjutant of the
ist Gurkha Rifles, was killed in action at
Wano in Waziristan, 3 November, 1894,
aged thirty.
(2) Edward Fox Angelo of the 27th (North Glou-
cestershire) Regiment, and from February,
1864, of the Royal Scots. Served in the
Crimea with distinction, and after a career
on the staff" in India retired to Australia in
1880.
2. ANTHONY EDWARD ANGELO, born as we have seen on
30 May, 1795. From St. Edmund's, Herts, he went
to Haileybury (where Henry Angelo was fencing
master from 1806 to 1816) in 1813. He was ap-
pointed Writer in the E. I. C. in 1815 and was
appointed to Madras. In that Presidency he had
a prosperous career, becoming finally judge of Chit-
toor in 1840. In 1843 he resigned the Service
(i January). He died on 28 July, i853.a
DEATH. July 28, 1853. In Fitzroy Square, Anthony Edward
Angelo, late Judge of Chittoor, Madras Presidency (G.M. vol. 40,
P-
3. WARREN HASTINGS BENNET (ANGELO), the only son
who elected for the home army. He received his
first appointment when he was sixteen, on 18 July,
1 See Bengal Army Lists for full details of service.
> Civil Records, India Office.
E
62 THE ANCESTOR
1812, as cornet in the 25th Dragoons. On 23
February, 1815, when lieutenant he was transferred to
the 8th Hussars, and retired on half-pay on 14 May,
1823. Of the next five years he spent two in Lon-
don, one in France, and two in Hereford. He
married 28 October, 1826, at St. Pancras' Church,
London, and in 1828 had one daughter, Fanny
Maria Angelo, born 20 April, 1827.' He died 20
June, 1832, aged only thirty-five, at Bayswater, Lon-
don, being ' late of the 8th Hussars, and third son
of Anthony Angelo, Esq.'2 He was interred at St.
Ann's, Soho.
Warren Hastings Angelo had issue one son and
one daughter. His son Warren Hastings Alured
Angelo, born in December, 1830, died aged fifteen
months in February, 1832.*
His daughter Frances (so named after her mother)
had quite a romantic destiny, and as the story reflects
honour upon her, I quote it : —
Fanny lived with her aunt, Mrs. C , but offended her by
going to a fancy-dress ball as a Greek. After that she stayed
with the Henry Angelos, where she got her outfit for India. On
her voyage out the ship caught fire, she behaved very pluckily,
and the Captain, Harrison, fell in love with her and married her
(Front a contemporary letter).
Courage has always been a characteristic of the
Angelos, of both the men and the women.
4 FREDERICK JOSEPH JOHN (ANGELO) of the yth Bengal
Light Cavalry was born on 26 January, 1800, and is
described as ' son of A. Angelo, Esqr., formerly of
the Company's Cavalry, Bengal.' He entered the
service of the E.I.C. 14 June, 1820. He became
Deputy Judge-Advocate-General of the Dinapore and
Benares Division, and was permitted to make Benares
his general place of residence. He resigned his ap-
pointment on the staff 23 December, 1840, became
a major 26 July, 1841, and was transferred to the
Invalid Department and was permitted to go to the
1 Papers at the Record Office.
2 G.Af. No. 102, p. 646.
3 St. Ann's Registers, Soho.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 63
hills north of ' Deyrah ' (Mussoorie) on 4 February,
I842.1
He married Catherine, a daughter of Colonel Van
Cortlandt, an officer in the service of Runjeet Singh.2
He left among other sons : —
(1) Frederick Courtlandt Angela. Born in India
6 October, 1826. 'Frederick Cortlandt
Angelo, son of Frederick Angelo, Esq.,
Lieut, in the yth Bengal Light Cavalry, and
Catherine his wife, born at Karnaul on the
6th October, 1826, and baptized at the same
place, 2oth November, same year, by me
Edward White, Offg. Chaplain.'3 Arriving
at Fort William 8 March, 1 845, he was posted
to the foth N.I. at Aligarh, was transferred
to the 5fth, and finally removed at his own
request to the 1 6th N.I. 10 February, 1846.
This officer was killed at Cawnpore in the
Mutiny, June, 1857, and to complete the
sad story his son (by Helena Elizabeth his
wife), namely Frederick Canning Cortlandt
Angelo of the 4Oth Foot, was also killed at
Fort Battye, Afghanistan, in 1879-80,
having been born at Calcutta, a posthumous
child, on 21 September, 1857.*
(2) 'John Angelo, born in India, 15 May, 1832,
another most distinguished officer, one of
the strongest men in India, famous for his
powers of wrestling. Educated at Mussoo-
rie, he volunteered for the Punjab cam-
paign, and distinguishing himself at Chil-
lianwalla and throughout the whole Punjab
campaign, especially at the action of Sadula-
pore, when he was c highly commended '
by General Sir J. Thackwell, on whose
staff he was. As a consequence he received
a commission by nomination of Sir A.
Galloway, K.C.B., and recommendation of
Record ceases (Army Records, India Office).
2 His son John's evidences.
3 Old St. John's Registers, Calcutta.
« Ibid.
64 THE ANCESTOR
the Rt. Hon. the Marquis of Dalhousie,
Governor-General.1 He was first posted to
the 68th N.I. in April, 1850, and stationed
at Meerut, and on transfer to the 5Oth N.I.
the same year, at Berhampore. He served
through the Mutiny and was on the staff of
Nicholson at the siege of Delhi. He was
also in the Ambela campaign (1868), and
became assistant Adjutant-General at Pes-
hawur, and thence, after having been re-
peatedly wounded, and mentioned in
despatches, in his various campaigns, he
retired to Simla as major on 7 January,
1876, where he died in the year 1900,
leaving issue who on tented field and in
many a hard fought fight have worthily
upheld the family reputation for valour.
5. GEORGE RICHARD (ANGELO) was born on 20 April, 1801.
I have no record of the life of this son, but evidently
he was the author of a book entitled Poems by George
Angela, edited by Anthony Edward Angelo, 1827,
which he did not live long enough to publish himself.
He died at his father's house in Newman Street aged
only twenty-five : —
DEATH.— Died in Newman St. 6th Dec. 1826, G. F. (for ' R. ')
Angelo, Esq. (G. M. No. 96).^
6. RICHARD FREDERICK (ANGELO) was born on 6 August,
1802. He was admitted to the service 21 November,
1820, became ensign in the 23rd N.I. 3 June, 1820,
lieutenant in the 34th N.I. n July, 1823, and captain
in the same regiment 5 June, 1835.
He was appointed aide-de-camp to the Governor-
General 10 January, 1835. Subsequently he was
placed at the disposal of the Governor of the North-
West Provinces, and appointed assistant to the Agent
and Commissioner of Delhi. Assuming charge of his
1 Army Records, India Office.
2 The baptismal registers of George Richard and Warren Hastings Angelo
show that they were both delicate chldren, as contrary to rule neither was
brought to public baptism for several months after birth.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 65
office on 25 April, 1840, he became Commandant of
the Palace Guards on 6 May, and on confirmation of
this appointment on 19 September, 1841, ceased to
be assistant to the Agent, but on 15 May, 1843, ne
was again vested with powers as assistant to the Agent
at Delhi in addition to his duties as Commandant of
the Palace Guards.1
Richard Frederick Angelo married Elizabeth, a
daughter of Captain John Mansell of the 62nd Foot
(the Wiltshire Regiment), subsequently a Knight of
Windsor, who on the recommendation of Lord Liver-
pool, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
(1809—12), was appointed ensign in the 62nd when
seventeen years of age on 16 February, 1814. The
family of Mansell, of which this officer was a mem-
ber, has a very clear descent, as is well known, through
that Jenkin Mansell who married Cecily, a grand-
daughter of King Edward IV., from the famous John
Mansell of the ' Council of Twelve ' in the reign of
Henry III., and through him from the ' Famille de
Mancel ' so renowned in Norman days, with origins
in Norman dukes and Saxon kings. Elizabeth Man-
sell his daughter, in a letter of the time written be-
fore her marriage, is described as ' a genteel pretty
girl and a good dancer.' It is more to the purpose
that she was a painter of considerable merit, a gift
which she inherited from her clever mother, and which
has come down to her children and grandchildren.
Lieutenant Richard Frederick Angelo and his
young wife sailed for India in July, 1830, and a few
years saw them settled in the old city of Delhi, where
Elizabeth unhappily died. She lies in the now disused
cemetery of the old cantonment out in the wilder-
ness beyond the historic Ridge, her tombstone re-
cording her death-tale, namely that she died on
7 October, 1 840, aged thirty-six, the mournful day on
which she gave birth to her last child, Marianne
D'Oyley Angelo (who dying herself in 1 843 lies by
her mother's side).2
1 Record ceases (Army Records, India Office).
2 Man. Insc.
66 THE ANCESTOR
Richard Frederick Angelo having attained the
rank of lieutenant-colonel, died at Lucknow in 1854.
DEATH. — I3th Dec. 1854, at Lucknow died Lieut. Colonel
Richard Angelo, 34th Bengal Infantry (G.M. vol. 43, p. 438).
His tomb, with many others, was utterly de-
stroyed by the mutineers in 1857. His will bears
date { 1 6 November, 1854.' He mentions his 'chil-
dren, Emily, wife of John Blackburne Hawkes, Esq.,
Captain H.M.'s 3rd Light Dragoons ; Richard Fisher
Angelo, Alfred Mansell Angelo, and Bessie Castell
Angelo,' among whom he divides his estate equally.
He appoints as principal executor his ' brother John
Angelo, a Lt.-Colonel of Invalids, Bengal Establish-
ment.'
His first child by Elizabeth Mansell was a girl
deceased in infancy, and the following is the inscrip-
tion on her tomb in the South Park Street Cemetery,
Calcutta : —
Sacred to the memory of Adelaide Charity, infant daughter of
Lieut. Richard and Mrs. Angelo, 34th Reg. N.I. Died I4th
December 1832 aged 9 months and 25 days.
Emily was born at Churi Punji and baptized
in Calcutta : —
Emily daughter of Richard Frederick Angelo, Lieut. 34th N.I.
and Elizabeth his wife, born at Chooree Poonjee loth Dec. 1853,
baptized at Calcutta 23rd January, 1834, by Henry Fisher, Senior
Presidency Chaplain (Registers, Old St. John's, Calcutta).
She still lives (1903), the widow of Captain John
Blundell Hawkes. Bessie Castell Angelo also still
survives, and lives unmarried in Guernsey.
Of Colonel Richard Frederick Angelo's two sons,
Richard Fisher and Alfred Manse!!, the latter perished
prematurely in circumstances of unusual sadness, and
his story therefore we shall treat of first.
This unfortunate young officer was born in India
on 25 June, 1837. Having fulfilled the usual course
at home, he landed in Calcutta full of promise, and
was posted to the ist Native Infantry. Delhi how-
ever had strong attractions for him. There he was
born, and there lay all that was mortal of his gifted
THE ANGELO FAMILY 67
mother. To Delhi therefore he would go. At his
own request he was transferred immediately from
the ist Native Infantry to the 54th, then stationed
at Delhi, and he was transferred the very month before
the outbreak of the Mutiny, namely on 3 April, 1857.'
Within six weeks he met his fate, and though no one
knows the exact circumstances, they must have been
as barbarous as most of the horrors of that doleful
time. The following extract records the fact : —
DEATH. May I4th, 1857. Massacred, supposed by villagers, on
his way to Meerut after escaping from Delhi, aged 19, Alfred
Mansell Angela, Ensign 54th Bengal N.I., second and youngest son
of the late Colonel Richard Angelo, 34th B.N.I., formerly Com-
mandant of the Delhi Palace Guards (G.M. new ser. vol. 3,
p. 465).
Richard Fisher Angela. We now come to the
eldest son, still happily living, the only member of
the Angelo family who has the glory of honourable
mention in Kaye's and Malleson's History of the Indian
Mutiny. He also was born in India, as the extract
following shows : —
Richard Fisher Angelo son of Richard Frederick Angelo and
of Bessie his wife, Captain 34th Native Infantry, born 3rd Sep-
tember, 1835, baptized at Calcutta 2ist September, 1835, by me
Henry Fisher, Senior Presidency Chaplain (Registers, Old St. John's,
Calcutta).
Not five years old when his mother died, he re-
mained with his father at Delhi, and going to Eng-
land when scarcely fourteen was left there in charge
of his aunt Charity Mansell, living at Hammersmith,
when Colonel Angelo returned to duty in India in
1849. Nor did the two, father and son, ever meet
again, for the son heard of the father's death at Aden
about a month after the event when he was going
out himself as an ensign in 1855. So sad are the
chances of an Indian career !
Richard Fisher Angelo of the Bengal Staff Corps
joined the old 4ist Native Infantry, the 'Dread-
noughts,' as fifth ensign in 1855. Like his father
and his uncles he had a very distinguished career,
1 Army Records, India Office.
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ANGELO, WITH AN ANGELO GRAND-DAUGHTER.
THE ANGELO FAMILY 69
winning to himself much glory for personal gallantry
in the Indian Mutiny, particularly in the Rohilkand
and Oude Expeditions of 1858, when he was doing
duty with the First Punjab Infantry. He was pre-
sent at the actions of Terai Forest, Nujidabad,
Naghina, Moradabad, Dujra Nali, Bareilly, Shakje-
haupur, Fort Banai, Mahumdi and Badian.1 On two
occasions, at the sharply contested actions of Naghina
and at Dujra Nali, he was recommended by his com-
manding officer for the Victoria Cross, but the General
under whom he was serving, 'Jones the Avenger,'
refused to pass on his name. What was his reason ?
The Victoria Cross had been only recently instituted,
and undoubtedly, among many of the British officers
of that time, a feeling which afterwards found strong
expression in the Times in connection with this very
case was said to prevail to the effect that the Vic-
toria Cross, instituted during the Crimean War, was
a reward and a decoration intended only for officers of
the British Army, and not at all for officers of ' black
regiments,' to adopt the disparaging language of the
time. At any rate Lieutenant Richard Angelo's name
was not passed on — he was simply told to ' do it
again ' ! At Dujra Nali he did 'do it again,' his
good fortune giving him another chance in an affair
which demanded unusual resolution and singular
gallantry. But again the general is said to have de-
murred, on the ground that Angelo was the only
officer whose name had been handed in for the
coveted distinction. ' You cannot expect,' said he,
1 that I should forward a recommendation for a " black
officer " (meaning an officer in a native regiment)
when no " white officer " has been recommended.'
And thus the youngster missed his well-earned reward
the second time !
Just before Dujra Nali, however, namely at Mora-
dabad, Richard Angelo's star had also shone benignly,
and there also, by an act of exceptional gallantry,
though he did not even then ' win his spurs,' he had
challenged the admiration of the force. Kaye and
1 War Services, Official, July, 1895.
7o THE ANCESTOR
Malleson, nay, the General Commanding, shall pub-
lish the story themselves, and if these pages should
be read by Lord Roberts, the Commander-in-Chief, I
trust that even now, though so late in the day, the
chief actor in that historic scene may receive his due
meed of reward for service so frankly and handsomely
acknowledged.
In Kaye and Malleson's book, which will remain
the standard work on the Indian Mutiny for many a
year to come, Angelo's exploit at the assault and cap-
ture of Moradabad on 26 April, 1858, is described
as follows : —
In this affair Lieutenant Angelo greatly distinguished himself.
Bursting open the door of one of the houses, he seized a prominent
rebel leader and one of his sons. Whilst engaged in this work he
was fired at from one of the upper rooms of the house. He at
once rushed upstairs, forced the door of the room whence the firing
had proceeded, and found himself face to face with seven armed
men. Nothing daunted, he shot three of them with his revolver
[which then jammed], and kept the remainder at bay with his sword
till reinforced from below (vol. iv. p. 365).
The General's forwarded account of this affair is
in a Despatch which is even more graphic, since it
shows the relative position of the upper-storeyed
room from which the firing proceeded. We quote
it as published in the London Gazette of 28 July, 1858,
merely remarking that Jones' brief note in forward-
ing the report tallies well with his alleged refusal to
back up the young officer's claims : —
From Brigadier General J. Jones, C.B. commanding the Roor-
kee Field Force. Dated Camp, Moradabad, April 28th, 1858.
I would beg to draw the attention of His Excellency to the gallant
conduct, as related in this report, of Lieutenant Richard Fisher
Angelo, 1st Punjaub Infantry : —
[Report] The capture of the Nawab (Muja Khan) was effected
by Lieutenant Angelo, doing duty with the 1st Punjaub Infantry,
who deserves great credit for his spirited conduct on the occasion.
This officer, having burst open the door of the room in which the
Nawab and his sons were concealed and having captured them, was
fired on by the guard of the Nawab, who were in a room in an upper
storey commanding the house in which the Nawab was concealed.
Lieutenant Angelo rushed up the narrow stairs leading to this room,
burst open the door, and, single-handed, entered the room, shot
-
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THE ANGELO FAMILY 71
three men with his revolver, and, on being joined by some of his
men, captured the rest of the guard.
On reading these authentic accounts of a most
meritorious and gallant action, is there a single officer
among all those brave men wearing the Victoria Cross
this day who would not admit that for this one deed
of daring Lieutenant Angelo richly deserved to wear
it too ?
Lieutenant Richard Fisher Angelo remained with
the ist Punjaub Infantry (Coke's Rifles) for three
years, when the regiment (originally raised for only
three months for some trifling frontier affair) was
disbanded, the officers insisting on getting their dis-
charge to enjoy their plunder at home. As Angelo's
own regiment, the 4ist, had mutinied in 1857 at
Etawa, he took up a course at the Civil Engineers'
College at Roorkee, and joined the Public Works
Department. In December, 1866, he resigned the
Public Works, and in 1867 he was posted, strangely
enough to the new 4ist (Gwalior) Infantry at Agra.
He rejoined the Department of Public Works as
Personal Assistant to the Chief Engineer, N.W. Pro-
vinces, and on being relieved served successively in
the 43rd (Assam) Light Infantry and the ist Native
Infantry at Agra (1870). On i August, 1883, he
retired from the service as Lieutenant-Colonel, and
settled at Naini Tal.
Richard Fisher Angelo married at Christmas,
1863, Elizabeth, the daughter of James Tiernan, Chief
Engineer of the British India Steam Navigation Com-
pany. She was born at Bombay in 1 849. Her mother
was of pure Armenian descent ; her maiden name was
Alexander, and she was kinswoman of the Aratoru
Apcars, the well-known Armenian merchants of Cal-
cutta. Colonel Angelo's sons, all born in India, are :
(i) Alfred ; (2) Richard, of the Burma Military
Police, who served in the Burma War of 1886—7;
(3) Frederick, of the British South African Constabu-
lary, who went through the South African Campaign
(1899-1902) ; and (4) Michael Angelo, now at school
in Guernsey. He has also had several daughters, of
whom Elizabeth, Louisa Oldfield, Dorothea, and
72 THE ANCESTOR
Florence are married, and Beatrice unmarried. The
decline of his days he spends at the beautiful hill
station of Mussoorie.
I have no precise information whatever regarding the
families into which married the various daughters of Anthony
Angelo Tremamondo. Two of them at least remained un-
married, namely, Maria and Georgiana, who are said to have
lived together, and it is curious and interesting to find that
with them the discarded name ' Tremamondo ' remained up to
a late period, as witness the following extract : —
ADMON. — Jan. 23rd, 1857, Maria Angelo Tremamondo, otherwise
Maria Angelo, late of 6 St. George's Road, Shepherd's Bush, spinster, £4,000.
Letters of administration granted to Rosalinda Helena Castell, widow, the
natural and lawful sister, and one of the next of kin.
CHARLES SWYNNERTON.
OUR OLDEST FAMILIES
X. THE BERKELEYS
house of Berkeley, although ancient,
_ powerful, and rich, never attained in its
greatest day to the first rank amongst the old
English lords. But they remained always
amongst the great barons of the land, and as
house by house disappeared from the checker-
board of history a rare distinction became
theirs. The lord of Berkeley came to be the
only English lord who still lived on in the castle which had
sheltered his first forefathers, that castle being Berkeley itself,
from which his race had drawn their name when surnames
were first a-making.
After the conquest of England Berkeley is found in the
hands of a family which farmed it from the Crown, and under
whom the castle first rose. It is probable that there was a
castle at Berkeley when Henry Beauclerk kept there his
Easter in 1121, the guest of Roger of Berkeley. Roger's
heir, another Roger who followed Stephen in the troublesome
times, is named as the finisher of the first work, so that Berkeley
may rank with those new castles which, filled with devils rather
than men, moved to wailing the chronicler of those days of
anarchy.
In the time of this Roger there dwelt at Bristol one Robert
son of Harding, an alderman and a merchant, and a man of
sound judgement in his political speculations. When Berkeley
Castle was sending lances to the help of King Stephen, the
money of this long-headed alderman was aiding the Empress
Maude and her son Henry. Some two years before he came
to an English throne Henry fitz Empress gave his enemy's
castle of Berkeley, with its dependencies called Berkeley Her-
ness, to Robert of Bristol, the son of Harding, and confirmed
the gift under his seal when Stephen's death had made of him
a king.
Four centuries later good Master John Smyth of Nibley,
steward of the hundred of Berkeley, and for fifty years the
74 THE ANCESTOR
servant of its lords, sought for the birth and ancestry of Robert
son of Harding, and leaves his seeking at the last with
the word that ' the heades of great houses are often found as
uncertaine as the beginnyngs of great rivers.'
There were those before Master Smyth who had set about
their work with more assurance. The first pedigree of
Robert's descendants of which we are made aware was framed
by the learned John Trevisa, vicar of Berkeley in 1351.
With him, so far as may be seen, begins the long accepted tale
which would make the origin of the Berkeleys at once Danish,
royal and improbable. Another churchman, John Newland,
abbot of St. Austin's by Bristol from 1481 to 1515, takes up
the parson's tale, and records for all time that Sir Robert fitz
Harding was son and heir of Harding, which Harding was
second son of the King of Denmark. All this in a document
which judges of the common pleas under Elizabeth were to
hold for ' an inestimable peece of evidence.' The presence of
this Harding in Bristol is easily accounted for by a law of the
land of Denmark, under which all younger sons of its kings,
for the avoiding of wars of succession, were forced to leave
their fatherland and take foreign service.
Master Smyth, with the good genealogical instinct of one
who as steward of scores of manors had been wont to ask better
evidence of ancestry than hearsay or an old tale, seeks in vain
for the text of this harsh Danish law, and ferrets amongst the
pedigrees of northern kings for a father for Harding. ' Some
small labor,' he says, ' I lost in searching after the line of
Squantiber the First,' yet Harding is at last left at the top of
a pedigree which Master Smyth's conscience will not allow him
to adorn with Squantiber's splendidly decorative name.
But Harding remains royally Danish, and rushes into
Master Smyth's first paragraphs of the Lives of the Berkeleys :
when 'to the rendevous of Duke William hasteth Harding a
yonger sonne of the King of Denmarke.' Duty to the great
house asked for nothing less, although the old steward remains
uneasy, seeing that ' divers lerned gentlemen studious in
antiquities ' have doubted the very existence of this eager prince-
ling. But he comforts himself. Learned Camden believed the
story, and industrious Stowe. The family believed it and so
did the heralds, but with a book before us of pedigrees of the
great and noble compiled by a herald of John Smyth's time we
cannot believe that these officers were hard to persuade. In
OUR OLDEST FAMILIES 75
Master Smyth's opinion a good evidence was to be found over
the gate of the monastery at Bristol where { an antient
marmoriall inscription ' hailed King Henry II. and Sir Robert
fitz Harding, filim regis Dacie as founders, but the date of the
setting up of this marble is not inquired for. At the last
Master Smyth leaves Harding and Squantiber with a wise saw:
' Boni venatoris est aliquid capere, non omnia. Hee is held a good
Huntsman that can catch some game through not all.'
Even in the t ime of John Smyth of Nibley the eyes of
genealogists were already upon a more probable father for
Robert of Bristol than the King of Denmark's wandering son.
Harding son of Alnod or Ealdnoth held in Domesday Book
the manor of Meriet in Somerset. His son and heir Nicholas
fitz Harding inherited his father's fief, which he certified in
1 1 66 to be two and a half knight's fees in Somerset. From
this Nicholas descended the knightly family which took name
from their manor of Meriet. Here at least was a west-county
Harding to hand, and beyond him the possibility of another
ancestor for whom one need not grope in cartularies —
Eadnoth the staller, who had been killed two years after the
conquest when leading the Somerset men against those sons
of Harold who had raided the coast. The links are still
unproven, for there were many thanes of this name, any one
of whom might have been Harding's father.
Robert the son of Harding remains, a younger son, if we
take him for son of Harding son of Alnod, yet the father
of great barons whose name would endure when the Somerset-
shire knights sprung from Nicholas son of Harding would
be long dead and forgotten by all but pedigree-makers. And
Robert son of Harding is more than a name and a date. The
Bristol trade fills his coffers, his money goes to the making of
a king, and his name travels far from Bristol. When King
Diarmaid Macmurchada, who has carried off the wife of the
lord of Breifne, comes barelegged and saffron cloaked to
Bristol on his way to ask help against the Irish chieftains who
would have no more of him, he is guest of Robert the Rich.
The alderman's banner flies over Berkeley keep, and he pre-
pares for heaven at the last with stately providence, founding
an abbey that he may die canon therein. Under the stalls
of his abbey of St. Austin he is buried in 1170, and his wife
Eve, who has herself died prioress of a priory of nuns of her
own founding, is laid beside him.
76 THE ANCESTOR
Before his death peace was made with the dispossessed
Berkeleys of Berkeley, who had been restored by Henry II.
to their honour of Dursley. Roger the heir of that house
married a daughter of Robert son of Harding, and Maurice,
son and heir of Robert, took to wife Alice, Roger's sister.
This older line of Berkeley l continued at Coberley until the
reign of Henry IV., when a daughter of them took their lands
by marriage to the family of Brydges.
Maurice of Berkeley, son and heir of Robert son of
Harding, by reason of his marriage with Alice of the old
Berkeleys is surnamed by John Smyth * the Make-peace, '
even as for every Berkeley after him the old steward has a
nickname ready. He had two sons, and the new Berkeleys
who rose by the favour of the house of Anjou begin early to
be thorns in the side of the kings of that line. Robert, the
elder son of Maurice, was a justiciar of King John, but turned
against him with the rebellious barons, and being pardoned
once, lost Berkeley Castle itself on a second rebellion. In
the first year of Henry III. he was restored to all his lands
save Berkeley, of which he died dispossessed.
The fortune of Berkeley has more than once brought
a second son to repair the work of his elder. Maurice's
brother Thomas is surnamed ' the Observer or Temporizer '
by Master Smyth. He observed, he temporized, and in 1223
had Berkeley back again and dwelt therein for twenty years in
peace, but Berkeley was again in jeopardy under his son
Maurice ' the Resolute.' This Maurice was married to Isabel
de Creoun, whose mother was Isabel de Valence, the king's
sister, but this kinship with the Crown did not hinder him
from coming in arms with the barons against King Henry III.
He died in 1281 and Thomas his second son succeeded him,
Maurice the elder son having been killed two years before at a
Kenilworth tournament.
Thomas of Berkeley the heir, called Thomas the Wise by
Master Smyth, might better have been styled Thomas the
Soldier. As a lad he was at the field of Evesham in the
barons' host and came away safe and sound. After this he
1 From Roger, their first founder, the pedigree-mongers have decided to
trace the Scottish family of Barclay of Mathers and Urie, whom the clumsy
Scottish heralds have fitted out nevertheless with a differenced version of the
arms of the second family of Berkeley, and with their mitre crest, first borne
by Thomas, lord of Berkeley, who died in 1361.
OUR OLDEST FAMILIES 77
became the king's man and had thirty marks for the warhorse
he lost before Kenilworth. He was in the Welsh wars and in
the wars of France. His banner was at Falkirk field and at the
siege of Carlaverock, and he was one of the great barons who
sealed the famous letter to the pope. At Bannockburn his
luck failed, and we may believe that the Scots knights swooped
eagerly upon their rich prize when the red and white banner
went down. For his redemption the lands of Berkeley paid a
sum which must have rejoiced many an envious Scottish heart.
His long life in harness ended as it began with rebellion, for he
died in 1321 a partisan of Lancaster against the king.
His two sons Maurice and John had long followed him in
the field, the poet of Carlaverock seeing Maurice's banner of
the arms of Berkeley borne with a blue label ' because his
father was alive.' Maurice was a jouster and haunter of
tournaments and Smyth has c the Magnanimous' for his sur-
name. Like his father he went to the wars with sons at his
back — Thomas, Maurice and John — and like his father he
joined in the sturdy treason of Lancaster, for which reason
Berkeley was again taken into the king's hand, whilst the Lord
Maurice lay a prisoner in Wallingford hold, where he died in
1326. His second and third sons founded cadet houses of
their name and Thomas the heir succeeded.
Thomas is Thomas the Rich and, in some measure, Thomas
the Lucky. With his father and grandfather he was up against
the king and the Despenser and fell into strong lodgings in the
Tower of London. Here he broke prison, but was taken
again and caged at Berkhamsted and Pevensey. But the
times were changing. The queen and the young Prince
of Wales brought him freedom in 1326 and he was soon at
home again in Berkeley Castle whence the young Despenser
was lately fled.
The next year was the black year for Berkeley. The deed
done there in 1327 is remembered to this day by every one
who speaks the name of Berkeley, although its lord's hands were
clean of that wickedness. King Edward II. was brought to
Berkeley Castle and committed to the Lord Thomas with an
allowance of five pounds daily so long as he should remain guest
and prisoner. But the Lord Thomas was too mild a gaoler, and
more than a gaoler he would not be. There were those who were
willing where he was loath, and Maltravers andGurney, first and
second murderers, came to the castle, whilst Thomas Berkeley
F
78 THE ANCESTOR
' with heavy cheer ' rode away to his manor house of Bradley.
He was there whilst murder was done at Berkeley, murder in
such hideous shape that we think of it less as the death of a
king — kings fall in the history book unwept as chess pieces —
than as the death of a forlorn man who dies screaming.
The Lord Thomas was a soldier like all his line. He fought
in Scotland, and the Douglas who laid ambush for him by night
fled from the Berkeley lances with only three survivors of his
adventure. But his chief service was in France, whither he went
as a great lord with six knights, two and thirty squires, thirty
mounted archers and two hundred a-foot. He was at Calais
and Cressy in 1346, and on his next journey to France was one
of the leaders of the English at the crowning mercy of Poictiers,
from which field he led away so many prisoners, that he is said
to have rebuilt his castle of Beverstone out of their ransoms.
Young as the Berkeleys came to the field, none surely saw
war earlier than Maurice the next lord, who was knighted when
he followed his father to Scotland, being then aged seven years.
The next year the child was wedded to a daughter of the
Despensers, the old enemies of the house. He lived to fight
under his father at Poictiers, where he took wounds of which
he is said to have died long after in 1368.
His eldest son Thomas, called the Magnificent by his
historian, followed the family calling of war, and kept the red
and white banner of Berkeley a familiar thing in France and
Spain, Scotland and Wales. When the King of France sent
ships and men to the aid of Owain of Glyndwr the Lord Berkeley
fought them as they lay in Milford Haven. His marriage was
a great one, with the heir of the Lord Lisle, but from this
marriage came the woes of the Berkeleys for many generations
to come.
His heir male, James Berkeley, followed him in his inherit-
ance of Berkeley, but Berkeley was in the hands of his cousin
Elizabeth, daughter of the last lord. In her hands too were the
muniments and evidences of Berkeley, and she was married to
the right famous lord Richard Beauchamp, the great Earl of
Warwick, against whom James Berkeley, a knight so poor
that he must needs pawn the plate of his chapel for two and
twenty marks, could plead nothing but his lawful right.
Law and right, however, prevailed, their course being made
easier by a thousand marks paid at a telling moment into the
hands of the good duke Humphrey of Gloucester, and the
OUR OLDEST FAMILIES 79
Beauchamp sullenly withdrew from the castle. But Berkeley
had not seen the last of the Beauchamps, who came before its
walls and sieged it again and again, rattling the roofs of the little
town about the heads of its townsmen. The feud was carried
on at law by the next generation, the coheir of Beauchamp
being wife to the great Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, so that the
quarrel fell into hands eager for quarrels at home and abroad.
The ladies of both factions cast themselves in the suit, fought
and suffered, the wife of the Lord Berkeley, although a
Mowbray and a coheir of the Duke of Norfolk, dying a
prisoner in Gloucester Castle.
In 1453 William Berkeley, 'the Waste All,' succeeded as
lord of Berkeley. In his day fell that strange battle of Nibley
Green. For a while there had been peace between Talbot and
Berkeley, for the aged Shrewsbury had fallen gloriously on a
field of France and with him his son, young John Talbot, the
Lord Lisle. A son of the Berkeleys had come by his end
at the same time, and the heir of Lisle was a child.
But when my young Lord Lisle came to the manly age of
nineteen years he wrote a letter to his cousin William of
Berkeley, ' William called lord Berkeley ' as he preferred to
style him, proffering him a meeting at some place half way
between his own manor house of Wotton and Berkeley Castle,
where all feuds might be ended with their own hands. But
William was of middle age, and by no means eager to set his
cause upon the push of a lance. He answered young Lisle's
letter in meet terms, deriding his new title of viscount, ' a
new found thing,' and making tryst to meet him with ' a tenth
part of his power.' It is evident that this last phrase the Lord
William cast in but as a graceful boast, for the Berkeley's men
came to the banner from far and wide. A thousand men
came in, miners from the Forest of Dean and archers who had
seen oversea fighting. Berkeley's brother Maurice left his
young wife and infant son and brought in his Thornbury men,
and beside him Philip Mead, wife's father to Maurice, led
Bristol citizens to the aid of the house of Robert fitz Hard-
ing of Bristol.
The lad Lisle's forces were met at Nibley Green and scat-
tered from an ambush. An arrow of Black Will from Dean
Forest took the young viscount in the face, and a dagger
ended him. The Berkeleys followed the rout as far as his
manor of Wotton, which they sacked and plundered, the fear
8o THE ANCESTOR
of them bringing the Lady Lisle to bed of a dead son, the
last of his house.
This battle of Nibley Green, the last private war in Eng-
land, was fought in such a year and month that William of
Berkeley had never to answer for it before the law. There was
a rising in Yorkshire, the Nevilles were leaving the king, and
the only writ which reached Berkeley was one making its lord
a commissioner to search out disaffected people in his country
side. From all the troubles of the nation William of Berkeley
held apart. To his barony he strung new titles. He was
Earl of Nottingham in 1483. After Bosworth he was Earl
Marshal, and to that title was added a marquessate of Berkeley.
Half the great estates of the Norfolks and Fitzalans were his,
yet in 149^ he justified Master Smyth's nickname by dying
in the sanctuary of Westminster without silver to pay his
servants' wages.
Again the fortune of Berkeley brought a younger son to
repair the elder's folly. Maurice ' the Lawyer ' succeeded his
brother. Within seven years he had recovered for himself
fifty manors illegally alienated by the waste-all lord, and though
Berkeley was in strange hands his son and heir, another
Maurice, had wherewithal to ruffle it at that costly court of
Henry VIII. and to earn from Master Smyth the title of ' the
Courtier.' This younger Maurice was followed by his brother
Thomas, who was so little of a courtier that although once a
soldier, as all the Berkeleys were, and made knight at Flodden,
his whole care was to live ' a kind of grazier's life, having his
flock of sheep sommering in one place and wintering in
other places, as hee observed the feilds and pastures to bee
found and could bargain but cheape ' — one of those shepherd
lords, in fact, whom contemporary Englishmen held for the
curse of their land.
There comes now to the Berkeley family that change of
lite which the Tudor rule brought to the great houses. Any
Berkeley of the middle ages will fill a page with the story of
his reign at Berkeley and his part in the wars for and against
his king. The lives of the Berkeleys shrink to pedigree entries
of birth, marriage and death. Thomas the Hopeful, Henry
the Harmless, George the Traveller — they pass and make no
sign. The one great event for them is the end in 1 609 of the
great Berkeley lawsuit which had cursed and blessed the house
for nearly two centuries, since the death of Thomas the Mag-
OUR OLDEST FAMILIES 81
nificent. The suit had vexed and impoverished them indeed,
but had the Berkeleys been at Berkeley Castle with a full money
chest and no private quarrel, their violent blood would have
made them strike into the wars of the Roses, and they would
have perished with the rest of the ancient baronage.
An earldom of Berkeley came in 1679 to George, Lord
Berkeley, one of the peers who had invited King Charles to
return. The maker of romance will grieve to read that this
degenerate Berkeley gave a theological library to Sion College
and was author of a religious tract widely read in its day. As
at the right moment he who had suffered the commonwealth
peacefully was ready to declare for King Charles, so when to
the eyes of competent observers of the times King James's cup
was full my lord was a subscriber to the declaration of assist-
ance to be given to the Prince of Orange. His daughter
Henrietta relieved the dulness of the family history by
eloping with her sister Mary's husband, the wicked Lord
Grey of Warke.
James, the third earl, was on the quarter-deck of the Boyne
when Sir George Rooke fought the French off Malaga, and
died Vice-Admiral of Great Britain. The fourth earl com-
manded a regiment raised in the '45 against the Pretender, but
it does not appear that he marched that regiment to Culloden.
His son Frederick Augustus, fifth Earl ot Berkeley, a sports-
man and a mighty hunter of the hare, made history of a squalid
sort by marrying in 1796 Mary Cole, the daughter of a
Gloucestershire publican and butcher, who had already borne
him four sons and two daughters. The mad fancy took Earl
Frederick Augustus to legitimatize these children by the story
of an earlier marriage at Berkeley in 1785. For this a parish
register was produced with an entry of the marriage in the
recognizable handwriting of the earl. For the marriage at
Lambeth in 1796 as 'bachelor and spinster' no valid reason
was alleged. More children had followed the marriage of
1796, but my lord cut off shillingless any child or legatee of
his who should question the marriage of 1785. So it came to
pass that the sixth Earl of Berkeley lived and died as Mr.
Berkeley. The Earl of Berkeley of to-day is the eighth earl,
but the ancient barony of Berkeley passed to Mrs. Milman,
niece of the sixth earl, and Berkeley Castle is the seat of a
Berkeley, Lord Fitz Hardinge by a patent of 1861.
O. B.
82 THE ANCESTOR
HUMPHREY CHETHAM1
FOR the studiously inclined no more attractive resort
could well be imagined than Chetham's Library on a
bright summer day. In the very centre of bustling modern
Manchester, an arched doorway in the stone wall opens
into the comparative seclusion of a courtyard, peopled with
boys in picturesque costume of blue, after the fashion of a
bygone generation. On the further side is a range of buildings
in the style of the fifteenth century. This is Chetham's Hos-
pital. The library occupies a wing on the left hand. Passing
through a wicket and up the stairs, the visitor finds himself in a
long gallery, filled with range upon range of tall oaken presses.
At the end of a shorter gallery at right angles to the first is the
reading room. Here is a haven of repose from the heat and
glare of the streets, the turmoil, the grime and the din. Shafts
of light from an oriel window are reflected by richly panelled
walls and dark antique furniture. Over the carved fireplace
is the founder's portrait. A striking head it is, and excellently
reproduced, framed in white rufF and embroidered cap ; with
great hooked nose and eagle eyes, high cheekbones, a wide
firm mouth and strong prominent chin, the lines scarcely
softened and no way disguised by the thin beard.
Here, it is said, at the point where Irk flows into Irwell,
once stood the castle of the Norman barons of Manchester.
From Grelle the inheritance passed in the fourteenth century
to de la Warre. The last male of this latter house was church-
man first and baron afterwards. Before succeeding to his
brother's hall and lordship, he had been rector of the church
hard by ; and having no heirs to say him nay, he turned his
rectory into a college or corporation, consisting of a master or
1 Life of Humphrey Chetham, Founder of the Cbetham Hospital and Library,
Manchester, by the late Francis Robert Raines, M.A., F.S.A., vicar of Miln-
row and hon. canon of Manchester Cathedral, and Charles W. Sutton, M.A.,
hon. secretary of the Chetham Society ; with a Genealogy of the Chetham
Family, by Ernest Axon : two volumes. Manchester : Printed for the Chet-
ham Society (new series, vols. 49, 50), 1903.
HUMPHREY CHETHAM 83
warden and eight priests, and dismantled the baronial halls
of his ancestors to house them. Two centuries passed. The
baron's foundation had, in mutilated form, survived the re-
formation ; but only to outlive its use and purpose. Scandals
and bickerings were rife. The revenues were grievously mis-
managed ; the warden and fellows had ceased to reside. Hum-
phrey Chetham in his lifetime exerted himself to reform and
remodel the institution ; and its buildings, which had been for a
century in possession of the Stanleys, were purchased after
his death by his executors and feoffees. From that time they
have been the home of a new foundation, better suited to the
age.
Thus has time brought his revenges. The third and latest
founder, to whose work the baron's hall and the churchman's
college have given place, sprang of a line which flourished
there, it is believed, before ever the Norman came. Man-
chester possesses other fine libraries now ; but that founded
by Chetham has still its place, and a charm that none can
boast. Moreover during the last century it became the home
of a learned body, which has published already above eight
score volumes upon the history and antiquities of the sur-
rounding districts, and still promises more. The society
adopted, as was fitting, Chetham's name ; and has at length,
after many delays, issued a biography of the founder, the
materials being drawn chiefly from his own papers, a rich col-
lection of which has long been among the treasures upon his
shelves.
Cheetham is the name of a township lying a mile or two
to the northward, within the ancient bounds of Manchester
parish. Canon Raines calls it also parcel of the barony ; but
in the next sentence states, more correctly, that it was held in
thanage, in King John's time, by Roger (not Robert) de Mid-
dleton, lord also of that manor. In 1210 Henry de Chetam
was his undertenant; holding also four bovates of land in chief,
in thanage, the locality of which is not stated.1 To Henry
succeeded Sir Geoffrey de Chetam, perhaps his son, sheriff of
the county 1259-61. The latter was dead in 1274, leaving a
widow called Margery de Greyleye,2 but no issue.
At a later date his manors of Cheetham and Crompton were
1 Knight's fee |. Testa di Nevil.
3 In 1276. Assize Roll 405, m. 3d.
84 THE ANCESTOR
held, in moieties, by families named Chetham and Pilkington.
To account for their several estates, Mr. Axon has adopted a
theory that Sir Geoffrey had two sisters, Alice wife of Alex-
ander de Pilkington,1 and Christian wife of Sir Richard de
Trafford, from whom he derives the later house of Chetham.
For the first of these ladies he produces no evidence at all.
The second does occur, in a fine of 1278, as wife of William
de Hackyng, or de la Hackyng, holding dower of the Traf-
ford inheritance in Stretford, Chorlton and Withington. But
if she was previously married to TrafFord, it does not follow
that she was mother of his children, or all of them. By
another fine, of the same term, she and her husband assure to
Geoffrey de Chaderton a moiety of the two manors above
mentioned, with property in Sholver, Coventry, Manchester,
Aston, Chorlton, Withington, Middleton, Wolstanholme and
Butterworth, subject to a heavy rent to Christiana during her
life.
Further evidence, of which none of the editors seem to
have been aware, is found in the great assize roll of I292.2
At this date another Christian, wife of William son of Robert
de Staynringes, was claiming, as heir of Geoffrey de Chetham,
one third of a messuage and appurtenances in Manchester
from Geoffrey de Chaderton and Roger de Pilkington on a
writ of mart tfancestre ; but was defeated upon an error in the
writ, which described the deceased as her brother instead of
her uncle. In a second suit, she claims, as heir of Geoffrey de
Bracebridge her brother, a messuage, 60 acres of land, 30 acres
of meadow, 30 acres of wood, 100 acres of pasture, and rents
of i8*/. and four barbed arrows in Sholver from the same
Geoffrey and Roger (who were tenants of the messuage and
land), Adam de Himpetres or del Impetres, William son of
Henry de Oldom, and Robert atte Hulle (who between them
owed the rents). The principal defendants produced a grant
and quitclaim by Christiana and her husband ; and after hear-
ing the witnesses therein named, the jury found for the deed,
and judgment was given for the defendants.
The Bracebridges were originally from Lincolnshire. A
1 Mr. Farrer (Lane. Fines, ii. 35») alleges that Roger de Pilkington married
Ellen, sister of Sir Geoffrey de Chetham ; and that the manors of Cheetham
and Crompton descended to their son Alexander, but gives no evidence for
that statement.
2 Assize Roll 408, mm. n, i;d.
HUMPHREY CHETHAM 85
good deal earlier Robert de Bracebridge had a grant from
Albert de Grelle of land of his demesne in Manchester, still
held by his heirs in 1210.' Geoffrey de Bracebridge occurs
in 1284, 1285 and 1288." From the assize roll of 1292, al-
ready cited, we learn that he had a wife Ermelina ; for her
executors, Herbert de Grelle and Geoffrey son of Geoffrey de
Chaderton, were suing his executors, Geoffrey de Chaderton
and Henry de Trafford. It seems that he also left a widow
named Ellen, who was at the same time suing Trafford.8
Christian apparently had a daughter named Margery, who
married Adam de Rossendale ; and they sued the same defend-
ants in 1 306, under a writ of mart tfancestre, for the property
she had claimed, now described as two messuages, 1 60 acres
£ rood of land, 40 acres of meadow, 40 acres of wood, and
the rents as above. The jury found that Geoffrey de Brace-
bridge, Margery's uncle, died thereof seised ; and judgment
was given against Geoffrey de Chaderton for one messuage
and half the lands, the rents excepted ; the other defendants
escaping on technical pleas.4 Litigation however still went
on ; and it would seem that Margery wife of Robert de Ash-
ton, who was suing Chadertons, Pilkingtons and the rest in
1313, was the same person. With all reserve therefore I put
forward the following pedigree, as the more probable account
of Chetham's heirs : —
Henry de Chetham, 1210, 1227
M [,']
Sir Geoffrey de Chetham= Margery de ... dc = Christian sitter and = William de
1235, dead 1274, s.p. Grelle, 1276 Bracebridge I heir [m. 2 ?] Sir Hacking,
] Richard de Trafford 1278
.
:lina = Geoffr
2
Ermelina=Geortrey de Bracebridge=EUen Christian wife of William de Staynringes
1284-8, dead 1290, s.p. 1292 1292, heir to her brother and uncle
Margery wife of Adam de Rossendale
1306-10, heir to her unck- =
^%
1 Testa de Ntv'tl.
3 Assize Rolls 1265, m. zjd. ; 1268, m. 26 ; 1277, m. 31.
3 Ibid. 408, m. 7T,,placita qucrelarum, m. 2, fines and amere. m. 10.
' Ibid. 420, m. 9. For the issue of Margery see Lane. Fines, ii. 3.
86 THE ANCESTOR
Canon Raines' statement, that Geoffrey de Chadderton had
received his estate in Cheetham from his father Richard de
Traffbrd, involves perhaps a double error. The evidence, as we
have seen, is that he acquired it from Christian de Hacking ;
and, for aught that appears, by purchase.1 Moreover the first
Geoffrey de Chaderton,* son of Sir Richard, had a son
Geoffrey, who was very probably party to the fine of 1278.
The younger Geoffrey at any rate held the Chetham estates in
1292, and also in 1317, when by two deeds he settled a con-
siderable portion of them, namely the moiety of his manor of
Crompton and a certain part of his lands in Sholler, upon
Cecily daughter of William le Bagger of Crompton, and her
sons Gilbert and Thomas. Nearly sixty years later these
settlements gave rise to a lawsuit, the record of which supplies
direct evidence of the descent of the later Chethams. The
lady was, no doubt, the Cecily who occurs elsewhere as wife of
Adam, the grantor's son and heir apparent ; and her son the
Gilbert de Chaderton of I355-3 Apparently the settlements
were ill drawn ; for the effect of them was to carry the settled
property out of her husband's family to the lady's collateral
heirs, after the death of her two sons without issue. Henry
de Crompton, the plaintiff in 1376, was son of Robert brother
of Cecily. The principal defendant was Thomas son of John
de Chetam, cousin and heir of Geoffrey de Chaderton, namely
son of John, son of Adam, son of the said Geoffrey. John
son of Adam de Chaderton, named as a witness to the disputed
deeds, was no doubt defendant's father, and son of Adam by a
former wife.4 We thus get a pedigree of the second house of
Chetham, as follows : —
1 How Pilkington's estate was acquired, I am not aware of any evidence
to show. There seems no reason to assume that it was by inheritance either.
There is no mention of coparcenery in the records cited ; and no distinction
apparently between the estate of Pilkington and that of Chaderton.
2 The date of his death I have not been able to fix. It took place before
1292, when Henry, his son and heir, had succeeded. Geoffrey, one of his
younger sons, and Geoffrey son of Geoffrey, occur together then and at later
dates. The Chadertons were a numerous family, and their pedigree is very
obscure ; for the generations overlap, and the same Christian names are re-
peated again and again.
3 Assize Roll, Due. Lane. 4. Cecily was still living in 1346.
4 Ibid. 1485 m. 19. There are numerous defendants, including Robert
son of John de Chetam, and Ellen daughter of John de Chetam. Cecily is
called « mother ' of John in one deed (Raines MSS. in the Chetham Library,
HUMPHREY CHETHAM 87
Sir Richard dc Trafford, tucc. 1121
I
Henry de Trafford of Trafford Geoffrey de Chaderton, dead 1292
son and heir=
,
Henry de Chaderton of Chaderton . . . = Geoffrey de Chaderton of Chetham=Joanl
son and heir, 1291= I Crompton, etc., 1292, 1317
^^
I
= Adam de Chaderton = Cecily dau. of William le Bagger Geoffrey
1 ion and heir I of Crompton, 1317-46
John de Chetham, son and Gilbert Thomas
heir occurs 1317, dead 1376 s.p. s.p.
r
1
Thomas de Chetham
Robert
Ellen
1376 =
1376
1376
A
The descendants of Thomas were for many generations
seated at Nuthurst, a freehold property in or near Cheetham,
granted to Geoffrey son of Richard de Trafford by William de
Eccles clerk, who had interests also in Whickleswick.* He in-
herited it from a brother Thomas, grantee of Henry de Chetam.
The purchaser seems to have made it a younger son's portion.
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries a branch of the family
were tenants in Crumpsall, at the northern extremity of the
township of Cheetham, and with them we are more particularly
concerned.
Humphrey Chetham was the fifth son of Henry Chetham
of Crumpsall gentleman, who held Crumpsall by lease from
Prestwich of Hulme, with freeholds of his own inheritance in
KersaJ, Ashton and Manchester. He was baptized at the
collegiate church of Manchester 10 July 1580; and in due
course apprenticed, as his eldest brother James had been, to
xxiv. f. 293), but that must mean stepmother, or her nephew could not be
her heir at law.
1 Stepmother of Adam, in a deed of 26 Edw. I. (Raines MSS. xxiv. f. 293).
1 Anctitor, iv. 208.
88 THE ANCESTOR
Samuel Tipping of Manchester linen draper, with whose family
he was connected by marriage. After his apprenticeship, his
father having died, and left him £40 for his portion, he spent
some time with his elder brother George, a former apprentice
of George Tipping, who was in business in London.1 Then
the returned, and established himself at Manchester, trading
here in partnership with George Chetham in London, until
shortly before the latter's death, which took place at the end
of 1626. Their business was chiefly in fustians, 'cottons,'
and other textiles, already the staple product of Manchester,
Bolton and the surrounding district. The business prospered.
When the partnership was renewed in 1619, their joint stock
was valued at £10,000 ; and his brother's death without
children left the whole of it in Humphrey's hands. Instead
of taking a new partner, he entered into an arrangement with
George Chetham, his eldest brother's eldest son, who took up
his residence in the firm's London house as his uncle's agent or
factor.
Of these and other details his biographer presents a some-
what bald narrative, interspersed with extracts from the Chetham
papers. To produce a work of art, to make the dead live
again, to carry us back with him to times long past, diligence
is not enough ; a writer must have at his command knowledge,
imagination, literary skill. Chetham's commercial and public
career began in the first years of the Stuart dynasty, and lasted
until the Commonwealth. Those papers of his, the corre-
spondence with his partner, agent and friends in London, must
surely reflect and illustrate more fully the public events of the
day. The partnership accounts, full and methodical as they
are said to be, should offer a rare opportunity to the historian
of commerce. With their aid he might lift for us the veil, and
show the thriving merchant in his home and in his counting-
house, trace again the course of business in a bygone age, and
describe one stage in the growth of a great industrial com-
munity. We may hope that more will yet be made of this
material.
Like most successful traders, we find Chetham investing a
part of his profits in real estate. In 1621 the partners were
joint purchasers of Clayton Hall, with the park, manor, and
1 George is several times described as citizen and grocer ; but Canon
Raines makes him a member of the Merchant Taylors' Company.
HUMPHREY CHETHAM 89
mill, and property in Failsworth, Droylsden, Manchester,
Ashton and Woodhouses. This estate, long the seat of the
Byrons, was settled upon the survivor, and thus accrued to
Humphrey six years afterwards. In the interval he had ac-
quired other lands in the same neighbourhoods. In 1628 he
purchased Turton Tower, the seat of the Orrells, with the
manor, mill and lands, and a private chapel in Bolton church,
which it was found necessary to restore. These manors, with
lands in Harwood, Westleigh, and Horwich, and in Bolton
nigh Bolland, county York, being himself childless, he settled
before his death upon his nephew George, heir of Crumpsall,
and head of that branch of the family. Upon Edward
Chetham, George's brother, he settled also a considerable
landed estate in Ordsal, Pendleton and Salford, which was a
later purchase from the Radcliffes. At the time of his death
the lands of Banester of Brightmet and of Tatton of Withen-
shaw in Cheshire were in his possession as mortgagee. The
apologies of his biographer for such transactions were surely
uncalled for.
College leases were another form of investment that proved
attractive. It was as a lessee apparently, in the first instance,
that he became involved in the unseemly disputes of the
collegiate body, in which money matters and ecclesiastical
differences were curiously mingled. The account given of
these is anything but clear. Richard Johnson was elected a
fellow in 1632, and was shortly afterwards engaged in pressing
his side of the question before the archbishop and the Privy
Council. In all this he was supported by Chetham, with money,
apparently, as well as with encouragement and advice. Their
efforts proved successful in the end. Warden Murray was
ousted, and a new charter obtained, with more stringent statutes.
It says much for the conscientiousness and public spirit of the
man that some years later, when Johnson, his friend and con-
fidant, showed some reluctance to quit his fellowship upon be-
coming Master of the Temple, he wrote strongly to enforce the
duty of prompt resignation. The incident passed without im-
pairing their good relations ; and the Master lived to take an
active part among his old friend's feoffees, and to be his first
librarian.
The ownership of land brought other responsibilities. In
1631 Chetham was among those who were fined for refusing
knighthood. Three years later he was chosen sheriff of the
90 THE ANCESTOR
county, an office he by no means coveted, and received his
commission in November. At this time the difficulties of the
king's government were growing acute. The first writs for
ship money, directed to the ports and maritime counties, had
been issued a few weeks earlier. Next autumn followed the
second levy upon the whole kingdom, the duty of assessment
and collection being thrown upon the sheriffs. What view
Humphrey Chetham took upon politics generally, or of this
particular measure, we are not told. He set about his thank-
less task in prompt and businesslike fashion. A fair assess-
ment was speedily made ; and in a remarkably short time
the £3,500 demanded from Lancashire was collected and for-
warded to London. The sheriff earned much commendation,
and the money seems to have been paid without a murmur ;
but a small sum which he levied to cover expenses provoked
an outcry, and that he was peremptorily ordered to refund.
Hitherto, it is clear, Chetham had known little of his
pedigree, and of heraldry even less. Finding, as sheriff, that
he was expected to display his arms, he had recourse to Handle
Holme of Chester, first of that name, who furnished a coat,
which was accepted with unquestioning faith. By what author-
ity he did so is another question. But he had a fairly com-
prehensive knowledge of family history within the Counties
Palatine, and evidently knew a good deal about the origin of the
Chethams; for the display of the coat in question was promptly
followed by an information against the sheriff for usurping
the arms of his neighbours, the ancient house of Trafford. It
would seem from the correspondence printed by Canon Raines,
and from a statement by Mr. Axon, that the arms and crest
ultimately allowed by the heralds were substantially those
devised by Randle Holme.
The truth is that, like many families of ancient and honour-
able lineage, for many a long day neither Chethams nor
Chadertons had occupied a prominent position in the county.
Belonging to the class of lesser gentry, hardly to be dis-
tinguished from yeomen, they would have little occasion to
use arms at all ; and the best of them could show, perhaps,
only vague and confused tradition in favour of those they
claimed to bear. The first Chetham to emerge in the visita-
tions was a cadet of Nuthurst, who, in 1561, had migrated to
Suffolk, and was there allowed for arms, silver a chevron
gules between three fleams (elsewhere called cramp irons) sable.
HUMPHREY CHETHAM
91
The same, or a very similar coat, may be seen, we are told, on
the seal of a deed dated 1474.' From this time forward it
was borne by the Lancashire Chethams in the second quarter
of their shield ; but the fleams (if fleams they be) ' are of
singular form, and of varying colour, often gules.
The arms of Chaderton were also in doubt. As Johnson
reported, after search at the College of Arms, that family 'may
weare the Crosse or Griffin.' At the visitation of 1567
(according to the printed version, Chetham Society Ixxxi.)
' gules a cross potent gold ' was the coat quartered for Chader-
ton by the representatives of the eldest line. The cross
potent again crossed towards the middle point, which occupies
the third quarter of Humphrey Chetham's shield, was
TRAFFORD
CHETHAM
avowedly meant for this coat of Chaderton. Elsewhere it is
called a ' cross botonny nowed,' or a ' cross crosslet crossed
towards the centre.' 3 Their alternative griffin coat has been
1 What legend was inscribed on this seal, or who were parties to the deed,
Mr. Axon does not mention.
2 They are called phleames in a letter of Mr. Johnson, and were apparently
so interpreted by the heralds of that day. [As stamped upon the cover, the
charges in question appear to be habicks, a weaver's tool, likely enough to be
found upon the shield of a Manchester man. — ED.]
3 With this coat, I cannot help thinking, the voided cross paty of
Pilkington must be connected. The latter has been described sometimes as
fiory, and sometimes potent. A cross flory again is a coat ascribed by
Burke to Bracebridge, though not the usual bearing of that family. It
should be borne in mind that a Bracebridge was heir of Sir Geoffrey de
Chetham, and that from the partition of the manor between Chetham
(Chaderton) and Pilkington a tradition of coheirship grew up. Moreover
Pilkington appropriated the Trafford legend, though nothing in the situation,
92 THE ANCESTOR
variously given in books as Trafford undifferenced, Trafford
with a border sable bezanty or with roundels of silver, with a
border engrailed azure, or (I think) with a plain border gules ;
but for none of these have I ever seen satisfactory authority.
The Traffords themselves sealed, in the middle of the four-
teenth century, with the arms of Grelle differenced by a bor-
der ; and I have not seen their griffin coat earlier than the
reign of Henry VI.1
Finding himself thus at issue with the constituted author-
ities, the sheriff approached the heralds in London through
his nephew and agent, his friend Mr. Johnson, and a young
barrister named Lightbowne. A kinsman named Wood was
also employed in the business. The first question was as to
his pedigree. That was settled by two certificates, one from
James Chetham of Crumpsall, his eldest brother, the other
from the head of the family, Thomas Chetham of Nuthurst,2
the latter stating that Edward Chetham, great-grandfather of
James and Humphrey, was —
a second brother of the bloud and lynage of my ancestors of the house of
Nuthurst aforesaid, lawfully begot, as by my evidences more fully may appear ;
so that I acknowledge the said Humfrey to be a kinsman of my bloud, accord-
ing to the proof of the premises ; and do hereby give consent and allowance
that he shall and may, without any prejudice to me or my heirs, lawfully bear
my Arms and Crest in all places and on what occasions he pleases, with the
difference of a second brother, surmounted by his own difference of Con-
sanguinity.
To this the heralds demurred, but ultimately gave way.
The statement was accepted, and no evidences were produced.
Mr. Axon tells us that he has seen the Nuthurst deeds him-
self, and that they prove nothing of the sort ; also that there
were Chethams at Crumpsall some generations earlier than the
alleged second brother.
The question of arms was more difficult, for the kings of
arms were jealous of their authority and inclined to take a
high line. The first certificate sent from Nuthurst had to be
tenure, or known history of his lordship corresponds to it, and bore a crest in
commemoration. Indeed the Pilkington mower is found on seals at an earlier
date than TrafFord's thresher.
1 Some church notes of the seventeenth century are, I believe, the only
foundation for Mr. Axon's statement that the Traffords ever bore three
griffins. There is every reason to suppose that this was the merest blunder.
* Also a near connection by marriage, being the brother of Isabel Chetham,
widow of Humphrey's brother George.
HUMPHREY CHETHAM 93
suppressed, and a second asked for, since Mr. Chetham had
added some indiscreet tricks of arms to his text. Mr. Ryley,1
with whom the negotiation was carried on, evidently found
himself in a difficult position, as other officers of arms must
have done before and since. His clients were not quite satis-
fied. 'And for Mr. Ryeley,' writes Johnson, 'it behoveth
you to shewe him respect as you have done, whether hee bee
true or false, as I feare there is a knott, and to trust him, or
at least to seeme to trust him, may make a knave more fayth-
full.' So far as I understand the correspondence quoted,
Chetham was claiming the quarterly coat ultimately allowed.
But the heralds found the second quarter recorded (in their
Suffolk visitation no doubt) for Chetham of Nuthurst, the first
and third for Chaderton. Clearly neither party knew (as
Randle Holme perhaps did) that the claimant was all the
time paternally descended from the latter house. The
' paternal coat ' referred to is apparently that with the fleams ;
and a female descent from Chaderton seems to have been con-
jectured.
What was to be done ? The sheriff was ready to accept
the fleams and have done with it ; but that course, it was
pointed out, after his previous display, would expose him to
ridicule in the county. Besides there was some hint of pains
and penalties for his unlawful assumption. ' Else,' writes
Lightbowne, ' we fall within their [the heralds'] censure' ; and
again, ' Reyley said, the Gentrey of the Countrey would ex-
pect a strict prosecution.' At this point Mr. Johnson seems
to have taken his courage in both hands, and offered Norroy
ten pounds down to settle the job once for all, an offer that
Sir Henry St. George very properly refused. Lightbowne's
suggestion was more diplomatic. He wrote to say that Chief
Baron Davenport, to whom Chetham was favourably known,
was on the best of terms with the ' Lord Marshall, one word or
lyne from whom might . . . appese this perturbation.' The
hint was taken. Out of respect for Davenport Norroy again
gave way, and granted all he was asked, adding for crest a
demi griffin, which he had declared to be the crest of Chader-
ton, ' onely upon the shoulder of the Griffin they have putt
the Cross which is parcell of your Coate.' a
1 No doubt William Ryley, Bluemantle. Compare Ancestor, vii. 264.
! The crest of Chetham, it thus appears, is invariably pictured wrong. On
the back and cover of these volumes the cross is shown as a cross formy. On
G
94 THE ANCESTOR
All that now remained was to settle about fees. Light-
bowne writes : —
Wee advysed with Mr. Wood what was fit to bee done to Sir Henry for
effectinge it, who tould us we could not give him noe lesse then Ten pieces
(for it was in a generouse way, and therefore wee might not bee too sparinge)
which we accordingly did ; and wee hope Sir Henry is well content, though
hee sayd hee hath had xxu for the like, but because you were my Lord Chiefe
Baron's ffriende hee said hee was well pleased with it ; though I thinke if
other Ten pieces had beene offered him, hee would not have rejected them.
And he procured the approbation of Garter principal Herald. Mr. Wood
advysed us likewise to give unto Reyley 4 or 5 pieces, in respect he had tooke
much paynes about it, and that my Lord Cheife Baron had used him as an
Instrument to bringe Sir H. St. George unto him, and that Reyley had beene
many times with my Lord about it : And Sir Henry St. George tould us that wee
were much beholdinge to Reyley for his care herein : And to say the truth,
hee hath expended much paynes about it ; soe that we gave him three peices,
besides one peice inclosed in your Letter before. And wee gave Mr. Wood
twoe peices for his care and paynes herein, Besides about 3'' for serchinge the
Records, drawinge of Armes, transcribinge of the Certificate and other
Charges &c. ... So that in the whole it hath cost about xix1'. Wee have
left your name hoble in the office of Armes : And Ryley protests hee will pro-
clayme & maynetayne your noblenes against all opponents. . . .
They called upon your Cosen George to take out his Armes, because the
Visitation for London is not yet [November 1635] compleated, who hath done
accordingly, as you may perceyve by the addition in your pedigree ; It cost
him xxxs. Wee moved to have your brother Raphe's Children putt in, and
could not prevayle ; but they could not come to you without naminge your
Brother James, being elder brother.
Sir H. St. George sayth your name is Chetham, with two H and one E,
and soe would be written.
A curious piece of dogmatism for that period.
So Humphrey Chetham paid his bill that his nobleness
might be proclaimed, protesting that the arms 'are not de-
picted in soe good Metall as those Armes wee gave for them' ;
and ' the Heralde will double his gayne when he meets with
a Novice ' — at which comments poor Mr. Lightbowne was
evidently nettled, for he writes again : —
If you meane [soe good Metall] as those Armes you sent up, I conceyve
there is no difference save onely in the Crest . . . if you meane as the pieces
of Gould wee payd for them, I easily assent, for there is soe much difference
betwixt Paynters Gould and Current Coyne. . . . And they thought lesse
could not bee tendered for a Pedigree ; and beinge out of Visitation, and that
Mr. Axon's p. 68 it is a cross crosslet. On his p. 67 there is no cross at all
In the last instance it is attributed to Chetham of Nuthurst, who was expressly
debarred from using it by Norroy (see i. 1 08).
HUMPHREY CHETHAM 95
you had made bould with anothers Crest ; — and to »y Truth, I cannot yet
satisfy myself how those Armes doe belong to Nuthurst, for the Records were
to the contrary. But I durst not question that wee are apt to believe things
for our Benefett. . . . Certeine I am Sr H. St. George was expectant of
more. . . .
The readiness with which the ship money was paid might
be taken to indicate that Lancashire as a whole was strongly
royalist. But that would be a mistake. The adherents of
the old faith, and most of the principal gentry, led by the
Stanleys, were no doubt cavaliers. Many of their estates
were afterwards sequestrated, and the list of royalist composi-
tions is a long one. In the first year of the war the energetic
measures taken by Lord Strange seemed likely to secure
the county for the king ; and the successes of Prince
Rupert, had he known how to follow them up, for a time
almost gave victory to the royalists. Preston and Lancaster
were long under their control, Wigan and Warrington were
in Lord Strange's hands. Other towns were taken and re-
taken. But in the long run the great landowners proved
powerless to carry the county with them. From first to last
Manchester stood firm for the Parliament. There and else-
where Puritanism had a strong hold ; and at one moment
Lord Strange found himself confronted by a popular rising.
After Marston Moor, when Strange, now Earl of Derby, had
retired to his kingdom of Man, the Roundhead party were
able to keep the upper hand and at a later stage the invasion
of the Scots and Langdale only ended in disaster.
Under these circumstances it might have been feared that
his zeal in the matter of ship money would be remembered to
Humphrey Chetham's disadvantage. But evidently it was
not so. When war broke out he was more than sixty years of
age, and could not be expected to take the field in person ;
but it seems he furnished for the parliamentary forces (whether
willingly or of necessity) one light horse and rider, and three
or four footmen armed with muskets, pikes and swords, wear-
ing corslet, headpiece and bandolier ; also a drum. Both
parties alike were ready enough to avail themselves of his tried
integrity and business capacity. In 1641 he was named col-
lector of subsidies granted to the king by the Short Parliament,
a troublesome office at any time, and more especially at that
juncture. Two years later, under an order to the Deputy
Lieutenants and Committees of Parliament of each county,
96 THE ANCESTOR
he was made Treasurer of Lancashire, and continued to act
year after year through the war period. Apparently the con-
tributions assessed by Parliament came to hand in due course ;
but requisitions poured in faster than cash to meet them ; and
military officers were constantly pressing for payment in some-
what peremptory terms.
Worse difficulties were to come. To his dismay Chetham
was nominated sheriff a second time in November 1648. He
was now an old man, and his health had quite broken down.
As he writes piteously : —
The charges of ye Office is a thing I matter not at all, nor the danger onely
in that sense you aprehend it, for it is both my health and my life also that
wilbee endangered. I have learned by experience that it cannot bee executed
by mee sittinge altogether in my own howse, and to goe abroad I am not
able.
And again : —
My case is this, I am almost 70 yeares of age, of a very weake constitu-
c'on ; I am not able to get on horse backe or lighte but as I am helped by
another, nor beinge on horsebacke to ride 2 miles but with extreame paine and
griefe, for my particular infirmity encreaseth soe upon mee that it will shortly
bringe mee to my grave, wch being sensible of I have for this halfe yeare and
more confined myselfe for the most pte to my owne howse and to my
chamber.
Accordingly he and his friends made every effort to get
the appointment cancelled. But there were extraordinary
difficulties in the way. The army followed up their remon-
strance of November by seizing the king's person, by occupy-
ing London, and by Pride's Purge, during the first week of
December. It was hard enough to secure attention for every-
day business, still harder to get anything done. The coup d'hat
had caused great alarm. Public men hesitated to act, not
knowing what might happen next. All the Lancashire mem-
bers were among those expelled the house, and they thought
it safer to withdraw altogether from town, so that help from
them was out of the question. The ordinance appointing him
had passed both houses, and must therefore needs be reversed
by both ; but ' the Lords (Mr. Johnson reports) will vote
nothinge, holdeinge it is not a ffree parliament.' A week later
only about three peers were in attendance ; and it was doubted
whether a resolution of theirs would hold good. The chan-
cellor of the duchy too was a prisoner, and had been deprived
HUMPHREY CHETHAM 97
of the duchy seal. This in the end proved most fortunate,
since it prevented for the time the actual issue of a commission.
January came and went, while every one was absorbed in
watching the king's trial and execution. Late in February
however Mr. Peter Brereton's good offices were engaged to
make interest with Bradshaw, the Lord President, and after
long solicitation he succeeded in his efforts, seconded by
Colonel Alexander Rigby, not without recourse to somewhat
dubious means. Some time before the Speaker's secretary
'refused a liberall summe because hee would not effect it.'
In consequence of a hint from Brereton, a certain ' Ticket '
was enclosed to him by Chetham, which seems to have facili-
tated matters.
Your inclosed letters (he writes) I delivered yesterday, with some little
intimation what was further intended. Coll. John [Moore ?] returned me
such an answeare as gave me no just cause to dispair of acceptance. But the
other unto whome you are muche obliged said plainly any offer would prove
vaine ; he had hitherto bin and resolved to continue a virgin. Unto wch I
replyed somewhat of the favour received, and of your earnest desire to
express a thankfullness. This begot some ceremonyes and complem , but
without any signe at all in him of yeilding to my desire or retiring from
his owne severe resolution. Yet not knowing but, like other maids, he may
say noe and take it, I shall notwithstanding make a fair offer. . . .
At length, early in April, one Mr. Hartley was found
duly qualified to act as sheriff and at the same time acceptable
to Parliament, and Humphrey Chetham was thus relieved.
Colonel Rigby, to his credit be it said, remained immaculate.
Plate was presented in Chetham's name to other less scrupulous
solicitors ; and that accomplished diplomatist, Mr. Brereton,
writes a charming letter combining the announcement of their
superior virtue with a graceful acknowledgment of the reward
tendered for his own services.
Through all these years of conflict not a word of his own
sympathies or opinions. Evidence we have that he was
respected by all parties, trusted alike by papists and church-
men, by the king's men and by the Parliament. At a time of
doubt and suspicion, threatened by royalist intrigues on the
one hand, by the violence of militant sectaries on the other,
the moderate party fix upon him as by necessity, old and infirm
as he is. No timeserver this ; but a strong, faithful man who
stood rather for justice, order and good governance than for
any party. A man in whose face vigour is mated with self-
98 THE ANCESTOR
control. Moreover, if somewhat austere, a generous, kindly
man, of whose more intimate relations one would fain be better
informed. A man of culture too, whose letters, even on plain
business topics, have a certain distinction ; one who valued
good learning, though his own teachers are but conjectured.
A patient, far-seeing man, prudent in business, quietly zealous
for the public weal, capable of planning for the future, whose
work would stand the test of time.
During the latter part of his life Chetham's mind was
occupied with benevolent schemes. His biographer suggests
that, even in his partner's lifetime, nearly thirty years before
his own death, there had been some understanding on the
subject. Several draft wills, which he left among his papers,
show that the plan of the hospital very gradually matured.
Already for some years he had been finding board and education
for poor boys, twenty-two in number, belonging to Manchester,
Salford and Droylsden ; and had made some effort to secure
the College buildings as a home for them. The foundation
took final shape in his last will, dated 16 December 1651. The
number of boys was to be increased to forty, others being
chosen from Crumpsall, Bolton and Turton. A sum of
j£7,ooo was to be laid out by his executors in lands of the
yearly value of £4.20 for their maintenance, education and
apprenticeship or other preferment. A further sum of £500
was appointed to purchase the College, if possible, or some
other suitable home ; and in addition £100 to establish a
library under the same roof, if that could be arranged, and
j£ 1,000 to be spent upon books, besides £200 for books to be
chained in the churches of Manchester and Bolton, and the
chapels of Turton, Walmsley and Gorton. The books were
to be selected by Mr. Johnson and two others named. Hos-
pital and library were committed to the management of twenty-
four feoffees, for whose guidance elaborate provisions were laid
down. The lasting success of the foundation is the best testi-
mony to the wisdom and care with which these had been
framed.
Less than two years from that date Humphrey Chetham
died at the age of seventy-three, and was buried in the Col-
legiate Church. His friends gave him a sumptuous, nay an
extravagant funeral, the cost of which amounted almost to
j£i,2oo, an enormous sum having regard to the value of money
at that time. He had never married. Nephews inherited his
HUMPHREY CHETHAM 99
lands ; the boys of the hospital are his children. Their num-
bers have grown from the original 40 to 60, 80, 100. For
their home, and for his books, the College was bought, as he
wished. The feoffees found it a ruin, and restored it, as we
may see this day. During two centuries that was his only
monument. But he was not forgotten. In 1853, exactly 200
years after his death, a marble effigy was placed by pious hands
in the church where he had been laid. It was the gift of one
of his boys ; and singularly enough the boy was a Pilkington.
W. H. B. BIRD.
ioo THE ANCESTOR
THE BARONS' LETTER TO THE POPE
THE SEALS OF THE BARONS' LETTER
(Continued)
LXVII.
SIMON, LORD OF MONTAGUE, was governor of Corte Castle
in 1298, and served in the Welsh, French and Scottish wars.
He was of Shipton Montague in Somerset, and died about
1316, his son William being summoned to Parliament in 1317.
He was ancestor of the Earls of Salisbury.
SEAL. A shield of arms — a fesse indented of three fails — between two grotesque
heads with spread arms. Above the shield is a castle between two ragged
stumps of trees, each with a bird perched on it. S1 ' SIMONIS •
DOMINI • D[E • NIpNTE • ACVTO.
COUNTERSEAL. An oblong field with a rampant griffon. This is the griffon
of gold on a blue field which Simon bore on his banner at Carlaverock.
In the roll of arms called the Parliamentary Roll he bears both coats
quartered in a very early example of a quartered shield — quartile de
argent e de azure en les quarters de azure lei griffons de or en les quarters de
argent les daunces de goules — the indented fesse being mistaken for a
dance.
LXVIII.
JOHN, LORD OF SULEY or SUDELEY in Gloucestershire, was
aged twenty-two years when he succeeded Bartholomew his
father in 1274, and was Chamberlain of the household to
Edward I. He died a very old man in 10 Edw. III.
SEAL. A shield of arms— too btnds. S' IOHANNIS • DE • SVLEYE.
LXIX.
JOHN DE MOELS, LORD OF NORTH CADBURY in Somerset,
was aged twenty-six when he succeeded his father in 1294,
and was summoned as a baron from 27 Edw. I. He died
about 1309.
SEAL. A shield of arms — two bars with three roundels in the chief. S' IOHIS •
DE • MOLIS — between two wingless wyverns.
67A
68
70
71
SEALS OF THE BARONS' LETTER 101
LXX.
EDMUND, BARON OF STAFFORD, son and heir of Nicholas
of Stafford, had livery of his father's lands in 1294. He had
great estates in the county from which he took his name, and
was in the Gascon and Scottish wars. He died in 2 Edw. II.
and was ancestor of the Stafford Dukes of Buckingham.
SEAL. A shield of arms — a cbevenn — between two little stars l (or molets).
LXXI.
JOHN LOVEL, LORD OF DOCKING in Norfolk, was son and
heir of John Lovel of Minster Lovel in Oxfordshire, whom
he succeeded in 1286, being then aged thirty-two years. He
was summoned to Parliament as Lord Lovel of Tichmarsh in
Northamptonshire, his mother being apparently the heir of
the Tichmarsh lands. He died in 4 Edw. II., ancestor of the
line of Lovels which ended with the Lord Lovel who fought
for King Richard at Bosworth, and for Lambert Simnel at
Stoke, after which day he was never seen again.
SEAL. A shield of arms— wavy with a label. SIGILL' • IOHANNIS • LOVEL.
LXXII.
EDMUND OF HASTINGS, LORD OF ' ENCHIMEHOLMOK,'
which is Inchmahome or Inchmacolmoc in Menteith, was
younger brother of John, Lord Hastings, another sealer of
this letter. His wife was Isabel, the widow of William
Comyn of Kirkintilloch, and daughter and heir of Isabel,
Countess of Menteith in her own right, by Walter Comyn
of Badenoch. Inchmahome, the chief lordship of the
earldom, was given by Edward I. to Edmund or Hastings
about 1296. He was at Carlaverock in 1300, and died with-
out issue about 1314, being probably one of those barons
killed at Bannockburn.
SEAL. A shield of arms — travy — between two branches of leaves and flowers.
The inscription, nearly all broken away, is said to have been S' ED-
MVNDI • HASTING — COMITATV — MENETEI • The arms are
without doubt those of the ancient earls of Menteith. A wavy coat was
borne by the Drummonds, vassals of Menteith.
1 The B. M. Catalogue of Seals calls them crosslets, but wrongly.
102 THE ANCESTOR
LXXIII.
RALPH FITZ WILLIAM, LORD OF GRIMTHORPE, co. York,
was second son of William fitz Ralph of Grimthorpe, by Joan,
daughter of Thomas of Greystock of Cumberland. He suc-
ceeded his elder brother Geoffrey fitz William in 24 Edw. I.
and in 34 Edw. I. he succeeded to the lands of his cousin
John of Greystock, another sealer of this letter, under a
settlement made by the said John. He was a warden and
joint-warden of the Scots marches and governor of Berwick
and governor of Carlisle. He died in 1315, being the founder
of the second family of the name of Greystock.
SEAL. A shield of arms — burelly * with three garlands — between two wyverns.
Above the shield is a helm with the fan crest. S' RADVLFI • FIL' •
WILL'I.
LXXIV.
ROBERT DE SCALES, LORD OF NEWSELLS in Barkway, co.
Herts, was grandson of Alice, the heir of Rocester of New-
sells. He succeeded his father, another Robert, about 1267,
being then the king's ward, and died in 1305.
SEAL. A shield of arms — six escallops — between two swords.
LXXV.
WILLIAM TOUCHET, LORD OF LEVENHALES, was summoned
to Parliament as a baron by writs from 1299 to 1306, but
little is known of him. When summoned in March, 1297,
to go with horses and arms to York he is described as of
the county of Northampton.
SEAL. A shield of arms — a lion in a feld sown with cmslets formy fitcby.
IE • SV • SEL • DE • AMVR • LEL.
LXXVI.
[JOHN ABADAM or AP ADAM, LORD OF BEVERSTONE in
Gloucestershire, had lands in his own right in Twenham in
the Welsh marches and married Elizabeth, daughter and heir
of John Gurney of Beverstone, with whom he had the lord-
ship of Beverstone in Gloucestershire and other lordships in
Somerset. He was summoned to the crowning of Edward II.
in 1308 and died in 1310. His name appears in the body of
this letter, but his seal is not attached.]
1 The field of the shield is divided by small bars between wider spaces of
the field, resembling gimel bars. If these small bars represent the dividing
lines between the colours, the shield is barry of eight pieces.
'
73
72
A ••'••
75
•
SEALS OF THE BARONS' LETTER 103
LXXVII.
JOHN OF HAVERING, LORD OF GRAFTON in Wiltshire,
which manor he bought of [Geoffrey] de Nevill, was Constable
of the Devizes, Seneschal of Gascony, and Justice of South
Wales.
SEAL. A shield of arms— a lion with a forked tail. SIGILLVM • IOHANNIS •
DE • HAVERING.
LXXVIII.
ROBERT DE LA WARDE, LORD OF WHITEHALL [ALBA AULA],
was steward of the king's household, and died in 1307. The
shield of vair, borne upon his seal, was carried by his daughter
Joan to the family or her husband, the Meynells of Langley
Meynell in Derbyshire.
SEAL. A shield of arms — vair — with a helm above it with a fan crest. S'
ROBERTI • DE • LA • WARDE.
LXXIX.
NICHOLAS OF SEGRAVE, LORD OF STOWE, and of Barton
Segrave, co. Northants, was second son of Nicholas of Segrave,
lord of Segrave in Leicestershire, a leader of the rebel barons
at Lewes. He was born about 1260 and fought at Falkirk,
and at the crowning of Edward II. was made marshal of
England. He died in 1322 leaving an only daughter, who
died without issue.
SEAL. A shield of arms — a chief and over all a Son with a forked tail.1 BON •
IVR • HIT • KE • SE SEL • DEIT.
LXXX.
WALTER DE TEYE, LORD OF STANGREVE in Yorkshire,
was husband of Isabel, daughter [and heir ?] of John of
Stangreve, by Ida, daughter and coheir of John de Beauchamp
of Bedford. He died in 1324 s.p. He was at the battle of
Falkirk, where he bore the arms shown upon this seal.
1 The impression of this seal is not strong, but I am unable to read into
it the well known arms of this Nicholas, which, as the Boroughbridge roll de-
scribes them, were de sable un lyoun dargent coronie dor ove label de gules. The
lion on the seal does not appear to be crowned. The British Museum cata-
logue of seals describes it, after its wonted fashion, carelessly and wrongly. ' A
lion rampant, debruiscd by a barrulet ' is an impossible blazon for a medieval
shield, and the fact that the lion's tail is forked has not been thought worthy
of note by the compiler. I am of opinion that Nicholas Segrave used for
this occasion a seal of the arms of Hastang, which is without doubt the
counterseal of Robert Hastang's large seal (No. xcvii.)
104 THE ANCESTOR
SEAL. A shield of arms — a Jesse between two cheverons with three pierced tnolets
on the fesse. The inscription is broken away.
COUNTERSEAL. A shield of the like arms. SIGILL' • WALTERI • DE •
TEYE.
LXXXI.
[JOHN DE LISLE, LORD OF WODETON or WATTON in the
Isle of Wight, was governor of Carisbrooke Castle in 1267,
and died about 1303-4. His name appears in the letter but
his seal is not appended.]
LXXXII.
EUSTACE OF HACHE, LORD OF HACHE in Wiltshire, is
said to have been a menial servant of Edward I. He was
governor of Portsmouth 22 Edw. I., and died 34 Edw. I.
without male issue.
SEAL. A shield of arms— a cross entailed. SIGILLVM • EVSTACHII •
DE • HACCHE
COUNTERSEAL. A shield of the like arms. S1 EVSTACHII • DE • HACHE.
LXXXIII.
GILBERT PECHE, LORD OF CORBY, succeeded his father
Sir Gilbert Peche of Brunne, co. Cambridge, in his Cam-
bridgeshire and Suffolk lands, his two elder brothers having
been disinherited. In 1314 he was one of the prisoners after
Bannockburn, and he died in 1322.
SEAL. A shield of arms — a fesse between two cheverons — hung between two
wingless wyverns. SIGILL[VIVI] • GILBERTI • PEGHE.
COUNTERSEAL. The shield and wyverns. S' GILBERTI • PECHE.
LXXXIV.
WILLIAM PAYNEL, LORD OF { FRACYNTON,' served in the
Scottish wars and died in 1317 s.p., seised of divers manors
in Wiltshire and Sussex, amongst which no manor of the
name of Fracington or Fracynton is found. His first wife
was Margaret of Gatesden, formerly wife of John de Camoys,
which lady was assigned to him by deed in the said John's
lifetime !
SEAL. A lozenge shaped seal of arms — two bars and an orle of martlets — be-
tween four wingless wyverns. SIGILLVM • WILLELMI • PAYNEL.
COUNTERSEAL. An antique gem with a naked figure holding a thyrsus or
branch in one hand and a sword (?) in the other. • • • EL • AMI •
LEL.
t^
,,
Son
80A
79
82 B
82A
SEALS OF THE BARONS' LETTER 105
LXXXV.
BEVIS DE KNOVILL, LORD OF BLANCHMINSTER or Oswes-
try in Shropshire, was sheriff of Shropshire and Staffordshire
1275—8, and governor of a castle on the Welsh marches. He
married before 24 Edw. I. a certain Eleanor, probably his
second wife, by whom he had the moiety of Blanchminster.
He died in 1306, leaving another Bevis as his son and heir.
SEAL. A shield of arms — three pierced motets with a label. 8' BQGONIS • DE •
KNOVILE.
LXXXVI.
FULK LE STRANGE, LORD OF CORSHAM, was second son of
Robert le Strange of Whitchurch by Eleanor, sister and co-
heir of William of Whitchurch. He was born about 1267
and succeeded his elder brother John in 1289 at the age of
twenty-two. He followed Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, and
had a pardon therefor in 12 Edw. II. He was seneschal of
Aquitaine in 1332 and married a daughter and coheir of
Giffard of Brimsfield. He died in 1324 and was founder of
the line of the Lords Strange of Blackmere.
SEAL. A shield of arms— tteo lions passant. S! FVLCHONIS • LE • ES-
TRAVNGE.
LXXXVII.
HENRY DE PINKENY, LORD OF WEEDON in Northampton-
shire, was younger son of another Henry de Pinkeny and was
heir of his elder brother Robert in 1295, at which time he
was aged thirty. He died in 1301 without issue.
SEAL. The knight upon a galloping horse — the shield and trappers have the
arms — a fesse indented. Horse and rider have the fan crest. S'HENRIC • • .
PINKENY.
LXXXVIII.
JOHN OF HUDLESTON, LORD OF ANEYS in Millum in
Cumberland, was son and heir of John of Hudleston by Joan,
the daughter and heir of Adam de Boyvile of Millum. He
died before 1 5 Edw. II.
A shield of arms— a fret. S' lOH'IS • DE • HODLESTON.
106 THE ANCESTOR
LXXXIX.
ROGER OF HUNTINGFELD, LORD OF BRADENHAM in Norfolk
and of Huntingfeld in Suffolk, was son and heir of William
of Huntingfeld, one of the rebel barons in arms at Evesham,
who was grandson of William of Huntingfeld one of the
twenty-five Magna Carta barons. He died in 1301.
SEAL. A shield of arms — a fesse ' with three roundels thereon — between two
wingless wyverns. S' ROGERI • DE • HVNTINGFELD.
XC.
HUGH FITZ HENRY, LORD OF RAVENSWORTH in Richmond-
shire, died at Berwick-on-Tweed in March, 130!, and was
ancestor of the house of the Lords fitz Hugh.
SEAL. A shield of arms— -fretty with a chief. S' • H' • FIL' • HENRICI.
XCI.
JOHN LE BRETON, LORD OF SPORLE in Norfolk, was of a
family which had Sporle Manor by grant of Henry de Veer,
husband of a daughter of Baldwin de Bois, who had it of Henry
I. He was a justice of trialbaston in Norfolk and Suffolk in
33 Edw. I. and died in 1310.
SEAL. A shield of arras — quarterly with a border. A • TVZ • SALVZ.
XCII.
NICHOLAS DE CAREW, LORD OF MULESFORD, was descended
from William de Carew, who had a confirmation of the manor
of Moulesford in 14 John. He died about 5 Edw. II.
SEAL. A shield of arms— three lions passant. S' NICHOLAI • DE • CARREU.
XCIII.
THOMAS, LORD OF LA ROCHE, of whom little is known
with accuracy, was summoned as a baron to Parliament from
1299 to 1306. He is supposed to have been the Thomas
summoned to follow the king to the Scottish wars in n
Edw. II.
SEAL. A shield of arms — three roach swimming — upon a shield shaped seal.
S' THOME • DE • LA • ROCHE.
1 The British Museum catalogue of seals interprets certain scratches beside
the fesse as ' two cotises ' !
84A
90
89
SEALS OF THE BARONS' LETTER 107
XCIV.
WALTER DE MONCY, LORD OF THORNTON by Skipton, co.
York, was at the siege of Carlaverock, where his banner was
checkered silver and gules. He died about 1308.
SEAL. A shield of arms — checkered — with a helm above it. Above the helm
and accommodated to it in the fashion of a crest is a beast of uncertain
character with sharp nose and pointed ears — a fox, if what seems like a
fox's brush be aught more than a thickening of the inner line surround-
ing the inscription. It is more probably that a beast with a short tail
like a terrier's stump is indicated. S' WALTERI • DE •. MOUNCI.
xcv.
JOHN FITZ MARMADUKE, LORD OF HORDEN in Easington,
co. Durham, was son of Marmaduke fitz Geoffrey, of a house
founded by Richard, nephew of Ralph Flambard the bishop.
He was before Carlaverock with his tattered banner of red
with the fesse and the three popinjays of white. He died as
governor of Perth for King Edward. As he willed to be
buried by Durham Cathedral his servants incurred the censure
of the canon law by cutting up his body and boiling the
flesh from the bones in order that they might conveniently
carry his relics through the enemy's land. His only son,
Richard fitz John, alias fitz Marmaduke, steward to Lewis,
Bishop of Durham, was murdered on the old bridge at Durham
in 1318 by his kinsman Robert Nevill, and the Lumleys,
descendants of his sister Mary, were his heirs in Ravensworth
and Stranton.
SEAL. A shield of arms — a Jesse between three popinjays. CREDE • MICHI.
XCVI.
JOHN, LORD OF KINGESTON, was constable for King Edward
of the castle of Edinburgh and sheriff of the county in 1298,
when he had a grant of castle and county during the king's
pleasure. In 1305 he was one of the guardians of the king-
dom of Scotland until the coming of John of Brittany. His
arms de sable a un lion rampaund de or od la couwe fourcbie are
found in the roll of arms called the Parliamentary Roll amongst
those of the barons and bannerets, and Sir Nicholas and Sir
Walter of Kingeston bear these arms with certain differences
amongst the Yorkshire knights in the same roll.
SEAL. A shield of arms — a lion with a forked tail — between two wyverns
[one remaining]. SIGILLVM • IOHANN • • • • ON.
CCUNTERSEAL. A shield and the like arms.
io8 THE ANCESTOR
XCVII.
ROBERT HASTANG, LORD OF LA DESIREE, was of Leaming-
ton Hastang in Warwickshire, son and heir of Robert Hastang
of Leamington by Joan, daughter and coheir of William de
Curli. He was summoned as a baron to Parliament in 1311.
SEAL. A shield of arms — a chief and a Ron with a forked tail over all — between
two wyverns. SIGILLVM • ROBERTI • HASSTANG.
XCVIII.
RALPH, LORD OF GRENDON in Warwickshire and of Shen-
ston in Staffordshire, was summoned as a baron from 1299 to
1303. Soon after this last summons he seems to have died,
his son Robert succeeding him, but the date of his death is
uncertain.
SEAL. A shield of arms — two cheverons. S' RAD'I • DE • GRENDONE.
XCIX.
WILLIAM, LORD OF LEYBORNE in Kent, succeeded his
father in 1271 and was constable of Pevensey Castle 1294 and
admiral of the fleet. A writ for taking an inquest after his
death was issued 12 March
SEAL. A shield of arms — six lioncels — hung between two wingless wyverns.
S' WILL'I • DE • LEYBVRNE.
C.
JOHN OF GREYSTOCK, LORD OF MORPETH in Northumber-
land, was baron of Greystock in Cumberland, being son and
heir of William of Greystock by Mary, daughter and coheir
of Roger de Merlay of Morpeth. He was twenty-five years
old when he succeeded his father in 17 Edw. I. and died with-
out issue in 34 Edw. I.
SEAL. A shield of arms — three lozenge-shaped pillows — between two wingless
wyverns. SIGILLVM • IOHANNIS • DE • GREYSTOK.
CI.
MATTHEW rrrzJoHN, LORD OF STOK.ENHAM, in Devonshire,
was governor of Exeter in 1288, sheriff of Devonshire in
1288 and 1294 and warden of Melksham and Chippenham
forests in 1301. He died in 3 Edw. II. s.p., leaving his lands
to the king.
.^: A shield of arms — three lions in a partycoloured field — upon a shield
shaped seal. S' MATHEI • FIL' • IOHANNIS.
91
95
9611
92
99
97
100
103
SEALS OF THE BARONS' LETTER 109
CII.
NICHOLAS DE MEYNILL, LORD OF\VHORLTON in Yorkshire,
was son and heir of another Nicholas whom he succeeded in
27 Edw. I. He died in 1322, leaving a bastard son William,
who, like his father, was summoned as a baron.
SEAL. — A shield of arms half defaced — three gimel tart and a cftief—. . .
. . . NICHOLAI • DE • MEY • • •
cm.
JOHN PAYNEL, LORD OF OTLEY in Yorkshire, is presumably
the same as John Paynel of Drax in Yorkshire, who was
summoned as a baron from 1299 to 1318, and is believed to
have died before 1326.
SEAL. A shield of arras — two bars and an orle oj martlets. 8' lOH'IS • PAY-
NEL.
H
no THE ANCESTOR
THE VANDEPUT FAMILY
AN ACCOUNT GIVEN BY SIR PETER VANDEPUT
TO HIS SON J. V. AT AMSTERDAM1
RICHMOND, June 1703.
OUR family came from the Cadois,2 and the name was
there Du Puy, when removed into the Netherlands, it
was changed to De Put, which is the same in Dutch. The
Van was added afterwards by the K. of Spain.
Your great great Grandfather, that is your Grandfather's
Grandfather, was an eminent merchant at Antwerp, Henry
Vandeput. He had two wives, first Elizabeth Husbard, by
whom he had several children, whose Posterity remain in the
Netherlands. The second wife was Mary Naurgheer, by
whom he had several sons, John was the eldest, Giles the
youngest, which was your great Grandfather. He came over
here into England, upon the terrible persecution of the Duke
d'Alva, after some time went over again to Antwerp, to see
his relations, (& I think it was at Ipres) He married Sarah,
the daughter of John Jaupin, who came from Cologn, died,
& left her very young to undergo many troubles. She was
Heiress to a noble Family in Germany, but because she was a
Protestant disinherited, But had the value of £10,000 sterl.
for her portion. Your great Grandfather brought her over
here, where she was a great Example of Humility, Piety &
Charity, and a constant Communicant in the Church of Eng-
land. She lived to a great age, but I can barely remember
her. Her Coat of Arms was 3 Jaupins or pine apples, wh. wee
Quarter. Your Grandfather Peter Vandeput married Jane
the Daughter of Dierick Hoste, a great merchant, who came
to live here upon the same persecution, I think from Zeland :
your great Grandmother was a Demetrius, and her Mother was
a Le Grand, All Refugees.
1 This curious document was found amongst the papers of the family of
Bosanquet of Dingestow, descendants of the family of Vandeput, and is con-
tributed by Mr. N. E. T. Bosanquet.
2 The handwriting leaves it uncertain whether this word be 'Cadois' or
• Vadois.'
THE VANDEPUT FAMILY in
And thus you may see how it has pleased God to bless
this family on both sides, who have continued stedfast in the
true primitive Faith, protesting only against the Innovations of
the Church of Rome, which were both against Scripture and
Reason.
Of the same Family there was a Sr Charles Vandeput,
who was Collon1 of a Regiment of Horse, & Knighted by the
Emperor for his good service in a famous battle against the
Turks.
Henry Vandeput, when the French endeavoured to sur-
prise Antwerp. They got into the city by Treachery, and put
abundance to the Sword, so that it was called the French fury.
He commanded part of the Militia, and was very serviceable
in driving them out of the City to conclude will only tell
you what your good Grandfather told me, viz. : —
Sed Genus et Proavos et quae non fecimus ipsi
Vix ea nostra voco, We.
H2 THE ANCESTOR
ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON
THIS carving of the patron of England and of knights
enriches an upright seat-end once in an English church
and now in the collection of our contributor, Mr. Walter Rye,
who discovered it in Norfolk. The saint, upright in the
stirrups upon a rearing horse, is hewing deliberately at the
dragon with a great single-handed sword, and the dragon is
huger and fiercer than is the worm-like thing over which St.
George is wont to triumph. His helm seems to be a sallet
with a visor pushed up, and possibly with a chin-piece or buff".
The breastplate is shown in two pieces ; the tonlets or tassets
have small hanging tuilles at the side, and the knee-cops are
framed with elaborate overlapping plates. The steed is held
easily in hand by the bridle of a bit with long and powerful
checks.
The date of this very curious and interesting carving is
probably about 1480.
ST. Gi.okt.i, AM» iiiic DRAGON.
I'rom :i
HERALDS' COLLEGE AND PRESCRIPTION
I
THE question whether a title to armorial bearings can
be claimed by prescription has of late been the subject
of much controversy. It was started by a series of articles
in the Saturday Review by a person calling himself * X '
(which were reprinted under the tide of The Right to Bear Arms},
and was continued on very similar lines by Mr. A. C. Fox-
Davies in his work on Armorial Families. Mr. W. P. W.
Phillimore has lately joined forces with ' X ' and Mr. Fox-
Davies in a pamphlet entitled, Heralds' College and Coats of Arms
regarded from a Legal Aspect.
These writers deny that any prescriptive right to bear
arms now exists in England, while admitting (at least * X ' does;
Mr. Phillimore seems doubtful) that it did exist up to the com-
mencement of the heralds' visitations. This view is supported
by little sound argument and less authority. In place of these
we find the question begged by the plentiful use of expres-
sions such as ' bogus,' ' sham,' ' illegal,' and so on ad nauseam,
as though the constant iteration of these epithets, if shouted
loud enough and long enough, would eventually prove the
case. It is the more sad to see Mr. Phillimore in this galley
because the public is indebted to him for much useful genea-
logical work, and for his amusing exposure of certain recent
pedigree frauds.
4 X,' it is true, quotes a considerable number of documents,
but the bulk of these, though many are of great interest, have
no bearing on the point he is trying to prove. His whole case
is admitted to rest upon one document, namely the writ of
Henry V. to certain sheriffs in 1418.* It is apparently this
document that 4 X ' has in his mind when he says that ' all
arms shown to have been in use prior to the battle of Agin-
court were accepted as then existing by right without ques-
tion.'3
The document will not, in my opinion, warrant the con-
1 The Right to Bear Arms, ed. 2, p. 44.
» Ibid. p. 98.
113
ii4 THE ANCESTOR
struction thus put upon it. The order of 1418 was a purely
military one, and it was limited in its scope to the occasion
on which it was issued. This is, I think, clearly shown by
the language. It is addressed to the sheriffs, not to the
heralds ; it relates to ' our present voyage just about to be
made ' ; and the penalties are even more striking ; the offender
is not to be allowed to set out on the voyage ; he is to for-
feit all wages already received ' for the same,' and all newly-
assumed arms are to be defaced at the time of the musters. Clearly
such language could not be used with any intention of
creating a continuing or permanent authority.1
' X,' then, admits that the heralds, during the early visita-
tion period,2 did recognize arms £ upon the strength of usage
for a certain period,' though he is unable to state what ' this
needful period of usage ' was.3 But when he states that in
such cases the arms were ' recorded and confirmed with little
or no alteration,' he is not stating the facts fairly. Hundreds
of coats were ' recorded ' at the visitations, without alteration
and without £ confirmation,' simply on the strength of user,
and by far the greater part of these are shown, by the length
of the pedigrees recorded with them, to have no proved
claim to date from before Agincourt. We may acquit ' X '
of any deliberate attempt to mislead, his acquaintance with
ancient armorial documents being doubtless a limited one, but
his language is none the less misleading.
Moreover, as all arms were ' bogus ' until recorded, it
follows that the bulk of the armorial seals, brasses, and what-
not, prior to 1528 at the earliest, were 'illegal ' ! How arms
could be at once ' bogus ' and l borne by right ' is not easy of
comprehension ; but so it is according to ' X.'
¥he Right to Bear Arms ultimately boils down to this pro-
position : ' By the use of a certain coat of arms you assert your des-
cent from the person to whom those arms were granted, confirmed
or allowed. That is the beginning and end of armory.' *
I will deal with this statement hereafter ; meanwhile let us
turn to Mr. Phillimore.
1 The construction of this document has already been dealt with in the
Ancestor by Sir George Sitwell (i. 82).
2 The earliest known commission for a visitation is that to Benolte in
1 5 28-9 ; the latest is dated 1 3 May, 1686 (Noble, College of Arms, app. xxi.)
s Ibid. pp. 98, 99.
* Ibid. p. 1 8. The italics are the author's.
HERALDS' COLLEGE 115
His pamphlet is a distinct advance on the previous works,
though it is marred by a fair sprinkling of c X's ' question-
begging epithets, such as ' bogus,' ' sham,' and the like.
Its chief defect, and in my opinion a serious one, is that it
contains nothing in the nature of definite propositions showing
concisely what the author's views are. The reader is left to
infer these from the general tenor of the whole work, and
from statements which are put rather in the form of argument
than axiom. Two quotations will, I think, make this clear.
No more serious harm than the general ridicule of his friends and neigh-
bours would befall a man who advertised in the Times that he was Duke of
London and Marquess of Fleet Street. . . . The voluntary assumption of a
coat-of-arms obviously stands on the same footing ; and just as no length of
prescription gives right to the title of Duke of London, so no prescription can
avail in the case of arms, and long continued usage through many generations
is of no value in England when their validity comes to be prosaically ex-
amined, either by the College of Arms, or by the ordinary courts of law, for
such purposes as the assumption of name and arms, or the creation of a baro-
net. We must remember that an individual cannot create for himself an estate
of inheritance in the bogus arms he or his ancestors have assumed.1
The advocates of legality in the use of arms generally state that only those
coats are regular and genuine which are on record at Heralds' College.
Broadly speaking this is the case,1 and no amount of prattle about arms borne
by tradition or prescription can alter that simple position.3
If these passages only were taken, we might be justified in
assuming that Mr. Phillimore believed in the inspiration of
the gospel according to ' X.'
But we find Mr. Phillimore expressing himself much more
guardedly towards the end of his pamphlet : —
We must recognize that unless heraldry is to become mere chaos, armorial
bearings must be borne according to rule, and that no rule is so convenient as
that which recognizes that lawful arms are those which rests on grants from
the sovereign through his authorized officers. In a word, let all arms, whether
ancient or modern, be confined to those whom old records and the long prac-
tice of centuries show to be properly entitled thereto.*
With the last sentence I entirely agree, and it is solely
from a study of ' old records and the long practice of cen-
turies ' that I have come to conclusions the very opposite of
1 p. 8. All quotations are from the second edition.
1 I am quite at a loss to understand the qualification implied here by the
words ' broadly speaking."
> p. 16.
* Page 23. The italics are mine.
n6 THE ANCESTOR
Mr. Phillimore's. The question then resolves itself into
this : If the College l in early times admitted that arms could
be borne by prescription, when and by what authority was the
practice changed ?
Let us try to realize what must have taken place when the
heralds first began to make Visitations. The official records
must have been very scanty, even if all books or rolls of
arms of an earlier date were admitted as binding. It has
never been suggested, so far as I am aware, that those who
used coat armour in the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries (when armory was of practical use and interest,
and had not become merely academic) did so by virtue of
grants of arms ; and the herald who had the temerity to de-
nounce such arms as < sham ' or ' bogus,' where no grant could
be produced, would, methinks, have had somewhat short
shrift. But though we have no detailed account of what
actually took place at a Visitation, Cooke, Clarenceux, has left
a very graphic account of an analogous transaction in 1583
(see post).
Sir Walter Mildmay's son produced to Clarenceux and some
other heralds a number of charters and other evidences suffi-
cient to prove their descent from a certain Hugh de Mildmay.
Two of these charters have the armorial seals of two Mildmays,
one undated, but about the time of Henry III., the other
dated in the reign of Edward III. Upon this evidence the
pedigree is registered and the arms are ' ratified and con-
firmed.'
Some such procedure, it seems to me, must have been
adopted at the Visitations. A man was summoned to prove
his pedigree by documentary or other sufficient evidence. He
proved his arms in exactly the same way. The very phrase
used when the evidence was not considered satisfactory, non
probavit arma, shows that there was some recognized way in
which proof could be made.
Let us see how a Visitation summons ran.
A warrant to the Chief Bailiff of the Wapentake of in the county of
Yorke, to summon all Knights, Esquires, and Gentlemen within the Wapentake
to appear before Norroy King of Arms or his Marshal, etc.
1 I use this term for convenience. It seems clear that the College, as a
corporation, has no heraldic authority whatever. None is conferred upon it
by its charter. Grants of arms from the earliest times were, and still are, the
acts of the Kings of Arms.
HERALDS' COLLEGE 117
These are to require you, and in the Queen's Majesty's name to charge and
command you that . . . you warn all knights, esquires and gentlemen whose
names are hereunder written . . . personally to appear before me ... and
that they bring with them such arms and crests as they now use and bear,
with their pedigrees and descents, and such of their evidences or matters of
credit as may (if need so require) justify the same, that I, knowing how they
use and challenge the names of esquires or gentlemen and beare their arms,
may make entrance of the same accordingly. . . .
Moreover, I will all those that have received either arms, crests or pedigrees
from one William Dakins (the late lewd usurper of the office of Norroy King
of Arms) bring them in to be cancelled, if they be untrue, and, being found
justifiable, to receive the same at my hands, with warranty, etc.1
This document is particularly instructive. The knights,
esquires and gentlemen were to ' bring with them such arms
and crests as they now use and bear . . . and such of their
evidences ... as may . . . justify the same.' The last para-
graph is very interesting ; even the acts of a ' lewd usurper '
might be 'justifiable.'
The evidence which follows proves conclusively, it seems to
me, that the heralds constantly and systematically recorded a
proved user of arms, at least as late as Dugdale's time ; that
this was done by all the earlier heralds ; and that Dugdale's
letter, ridiculed though it be by Mr. Phillimore, merely states
what was then and always had been the everyday practice of
the College.
1 therefore join issue with Mr. Phillimore and the others of
his school. ' Long continued usage through many generations '
has been recognized by English Heralds, from the earliest
times of which we have an any record until a comparatively
recent date, and ' old records and the long practice of centuries '
amply prove this statement. This is admittedly the old prac-
tice of the English Heralds, and it is founded on common
sense ; it is strictly analogous to the rules of common law ;
and it is still followed by the Irish and, I believe, the Scotch
Heralds. The Irish practice is shown by the following exem-
plification, dated 1875.
Sir John Bernard Burke certifies and declares that certain
arms, ' which have been proved to me to have been long borne
by prescription, are confirmed, and do of right belong and ap-
pertain unto ' the persons therein mentioned.2
How comes it then that the Irish practice differs from the
1 Glover's Visitation of Yorkshire, edited by Joseph Foster, p. 406.
1 Misc. Gen. ct Her. (new ser.), ii. 372.
n8 THE ANCESTOR
English ? The laws of heraldry in Ireland can hardly have
been settled at a period anterior to the English dominion.
Was Ireland specially exempted when the right to regulate
arms was (as ' X ' says) ' appropriated or annexed to the Crown ' ? l
Have the Irish Heralds become lax and invented a practice of
their own ? Mr. Phillimore and ' X ' are alike silent on the
question.
Let me once more quote 'the beginning and end of
armory ' according to ' X ' : ' By the use of a certain coat of
arms, you assert your descent from the person to whom those
arms were granted, confirmed or allowed.' 2
Mr. Phillimore's version of this runs : ' the ultimate and
only test is whether the arms rest on a grant or ancient allow-
ance of the Heralds at some Visitation.' 3
It will be observed that Mr. Phillimore's statement will bear
a much wider interpretation than the other. In the case of a
grant there is no room for doubt ; the descent of the coat is
limited by the words of the grant. But an 'allowance' is
open to two interpretations ; ' X ' clearly takes the narrower
view ; Mr. Phillimore is not so confident, and his language is
consistent with his holding a wider view. ' X ' speaks of ' the
person to whom those arms were . . . allowed.' Clearly, in
his view, the arms are allowed only to the individual entering
the pedigree and his descendants. Thus, if John Doe enters
his pedigree of six generations at a Visitation, and arms are
allowed by the visiting herald, the law according to ' X ' would
state that only the descendants of John Doe himself are entitled
to the arms then recorded.* If this be so, perhaps ' X ' will
kindly explain how an ' allowance ' differs from a grant. It is
quite certain that persons to whom arms were ' allowed ' at the
Visitations were not required to obtain grants, and did not do so.5
The heralds, then, obviously recognized a difference, which
apparently ' X ' does not. In short, the herald recorded a
proved user of arms, just as he recorded a proved pedigree.
Mr. Phillimore would get over this difficulty by a suggestion
1 The Right to Bear Arms, p. 36.
» Ibid. ed. 2, p. 1 8.
» Page 6.
« This is the only grammatical construction that the passage will bear, and
the reader is bound to assume that it is intentional.
6 Grants of arms are frequently noted in Visitations where the arms were
claimed in virtue of a grant.
HERALDS' COLLEGE 119
that does more credit to his ingenuity than his knowledge of
the subject. Speaking of Dugdale's letter,1 he says, ' Pro-
bably ... he by a goodnatured laxity set up inferentially, in
support of the prescription claimed, a " lost grant," a favourite
legal fiction.' 2
It is decidedly ingenious, and doubtless the fifteenth, six-
teenth and seventeenth century heralds would have been most
grateful to Mr. Phillimore had he lived early enough to pre-
sent them with such a device. The then equivalents of Sir
Gorgius Midas and Sir Pompey Bedell (not to mention other
names) would have hailed the ' lost grant ' with great delight.
The ' bogus ' pedigrees of the day would each, no doubt, have
had its ' lost grant ' ; not merely Agincourt, but Poitiers, Crecy,
Caerlaverock, Evesham, Acre, Hastings itself would have
played prominent parts in the game. Unfortunately, it never
seems to have occurred to anybody until Mr. Phillimore had to
explain away a very plain statement by a very great herald.
Quite a considerable number of ' fictions,' do appear in grants
of arms, but that of the ' lost grant ' is not one of them.
Mr. Phillimore's proposed remedy is an extraordinary one :
Probably the greatest deterrent to the use of bogus arms would be the pub-
lication of a list of all known grants of arms, with an intimation that only those
were entitled to use them who either were themselves grantees or who could
show descent from a grantee in accordance with the limitations of the respec-
tive patents.3
The result would be surprising. We should look in vain
for the names of the feudal nobility, of the great military
leaders of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries ; the bulk of
the names of our old Visitation families would be conspicuous
by their absence. In return we should get a wonderful list
of new men of various centuries, and (if we include exempli-
fications with differences in Mr. Phillimore's term 'grants,'
but not otherwise) a considerable number of more or less
authentic cadet houses. The list would have an interest all
its own, but it would hardly represent English armoury at its
best.
When we come to study Mr. Phillimore's Legal Aspect we
find that it is based upon three analogies, namely, titles, estates
1 Lansdowne MS. 870, fol. 88 ; Anctstor, ii. 45.
« Page 1 8.
« pp. 18,19.
i2o THE ANCESTOR
of inheritance, and trade-marks, each of which is absolutely
against Mr. Phillimore's contentions.
Apart from peerages, titles of honour borne by prescription
were well known in early times, and are still recognized and
used. < The Knight of Glin ' or ' The Master of Elibank,'
the emphatic ' The ' of the heads of some Scotch clans, and
all courtesy titles, may be cited as instances of those still
current.
Turn we now to estates of inheritance. If there is one
branch of the law in which prescription is fully recognized and
still of paramount importance it is that relating to real pro-
perty. It can hardly be news to Mr. Phillimore that a mere
squatter can to-day acquire a valid title to land by a mere
twelve years' occupation, and that not only against the world
at large but against the rightful owner. A property so ac-
quired would become an estate of inheritance in the squatter,
and would descend to his heirs. ' We must remember (says
Mr. Phillimore1) that an individual cannot create for himself
an estate of inheritance in the bogus arms he or his ancestors
have assumed ' ; on his own argument therefore the analogy
to the law of real property is untenable.
The reference to trade-marks is particularly unhappy, for
what analogies exist between them and coats of arms are
wholly against Mr. Phillimore's contentions. Registration of
trade-marks was first established by an Act of Parliament
passed in i875-2 So that the whole of the law on the subject
is purely statutory. But that act and the subsequent acts on
the subject provided for the rectification of the register by
the removal of any mark which had been improperly regis-
tered, and a large number of such cases turned solely on the
question of user.3
One can but admire Mr. Phillimore's reckless courage in
suggesting that the law of coat-armour should be assimilated
to that of trade-marks, so far as to give a registered proprietor
of arms the right to obtain an injunction in cases of infringe-
ment. If this were done, and were made retrospective, and
were coupled (as it would logically have to be) with a ' recti-
fication of the register,' there can be little doubt that the
officers of arms would have an exceedingly busy time in can-
1 Page 8.
2 38 & 39 Viet. cap. 91.
3 See for example Jackson & Co. r. Napper, 35 Ch. Div. 162.
HERALDS' COLLEGE 121
celling their own grants and allowances.1 I prefer not to men-
tion any modern instances of these ' infringements,' but will
refer Mr. Phillimore to one in 1585,* which will be found a
few pages further on.
In early times, moreover, the coat of arms could be assigned
by its owner by deed or bequeathed by will, just as a trade-
mark can. Mr. Phillimore seems to have forgotten this when
he says ' unlike trade-marks, they are not assignable.' *
Mr. Phillimore appeals to the law, but his ' legal aspect '
is vague and uncertain in the extreme. ' Certain it is (he says)
that the regulation of such matters was very early taken to be
a matter of honour, and therefore to be dealt with by the
royal prerogative, as the well-known case of Scrope v. Gros-
venor . . . amply proves.' *
Here again we seem to get a milder version of ' X's '
more positive statements. ' Undoubtedly, in the infancy of
the science, people choose and assumed their own arms . . .
but in all countries this right was soon appropriated and
annexed to the Crown.' *
Unfortunately, both ' X ' and Mr. Phillimore omit to
inform us when, how, and by whom this was done, and
they can hardly expect that their statement can be accepted
without the citation of any authority.
It is clear that the early heralds knew nothing of any
such appropriation and annexation. The Scrope and Gros-
venor case, cited by Mr. Phillimore as 'ample proof of his
statement, does not mention the heralds at all, while the
commissioners who heKr*the second inquiry laid down rules
of evidence which in my opinion precluded the calling of
heralds as witnesses.
When Sir Richard Scrope demanded to know how he was
to prove his arms, the judges replied that it was to be ' par
bones nobles et sufficiauntz proeves eiauntz notice des aun-
1 This may be done in Scotland. Seton quotes a case where a grant
made in 1744 was ordered to be 'recalled and expunged in 1762, on the
ground of infringement ; and the defendants, who had obtained the new
grant, were condemned in costs ' (Late and Practice of Heraldry in Scotland [1863],
pp. 48, 49).
1 The Horsley case.
- s Some notes on this branch of the subject are reserved for a future article
' Page 4.
* The Right to Bear Armt, ed. 2, p. 36.
122 THE ANCESTOR
cestres, et par veilles chartres et autres proeves autentikes.' *
At a subsequent stage the Constable c comanda as parties de
faire lour proeve par veu des munimentz, cronicles, sepultures,
tesmoignes des abbes, priours, et autres gentz de Seint Eglise,
et autres proeves honurables eiauntz notice de lour auncestres
et auncestrie, et de sepultures, peyntours, verures, vestementz,
et autres evidences, et enoutre par tesmoignes de seignours,
chivalers, et esquiers de honour, et gentiles hommes eiauntz
conissaunz darmes, et par nulle autre homme de communs ne
dautre estat.'2 I doubt if the heralds at that date would have
been deemed as such to come within any of these classifica-
tions.
The evidence of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, as to
what took place on the previous dispute between Scrope and
Carminow, points in the same direction. He testifies that at
the last expedition of Edward III. into France, a controversy
arose concerning the said arms between the said Sir Richard
Scrope and one called Carminow of Cornwall, which Carminow
challenged those arms of Sir Richard. The Duke referred
the dispute to six knights, who, upon true evidence, found the
said Carminow to be descended of a lineage armed ' azure a
bend or,' since the time of King Arthur ; and that Scrope's
ancestors had used the same arms since the time of William
the Conqueror. So it was adjudged that both might bear the
arms entire.3
The evidence by both parties related to user pure and
simple.
Sir Walter Ursewick deposed that he had seen Sir Richard
Scrope with the arms claimed on his coat armour, banner and
penon, ' et que de droit luy appartiegnent dauncestrie lez ditz
armes, dount memoire ne court, com il ad oie dire des plou-
sours noblez et vaillantz seignurs, chivalers et esquiers, et
come voys et fame laboure.' Most of the other witnesses
use similar expressions.
Sir John Sully, K.G., aged 105, and armed eighty years,
said that in his time he had always heard that the said arms
belonged to Sir Richard Scrope by descent, as public opinion
1 Scrope and Grosvenor Controversy, i. 39.
3 Ibid. p. 40.
3 Ibid. ii. 165. Six knights, observe, not six heralds. Clearly the ' appro-
priation or annexation to the Crown ' had not taken place up to this point.
HERALDS' COLLEGE 123
had reputed all his time, and that Sir Richard and others of
his lineage had peaceably enjoyed them from beyond the time
of memory.1
To return to the ' legal aspect ' after this slight digression.
The best statement that Mr. Phillimore can make as to
the law on the subject is as follows* : —
The absence of any definite code or set of rules in early times respecting
armoury is a clear indication that the law on the subject is wholly analogous
to the common law, i.e. it rests, not on statute, but on very ancient and long
usage, continued down to the present time, without, so far as we know, any
break or interruption whatever. . . . The practice and law of heraldry in
England has therefore to be gathered from the various royal grants and war-
rants and letters patent relative thereto, and from the practice and usages of
the officers of arms, extending without intermission over a period of five or
six hundred years.3
With this statement I entirely agree, thought I differ from
Mr. Phillimore as to what c the practice and usages of the
officers of arms ' have been.
The law of arms, therefore, is based solely upon custom,
as Mr. Phillimore himself admits.
We thus arrive at the Gilbertian conclusion, that the claims
of the College, as set forth by its self-appointed champions,
are based upon that very prescription, which is so loudly de-
nounced in other people. Prescription for the college is good
and lawful ; for any one else it is intolerable and not to be
borne. It is a magnificent paraphrase of Bishop Warburton's
celebrated reply to Lord Sandwich : ' Orthodoxy is my doxy,
heterodoxy is another man's doxy.' It is a heraldic variant of
the old game, ' Heads I win, tails you lose.'
But is it sound in law ? I think not. The judges, to
whom Mr. Phillimore's pamphlet frequently appeals, would
deal shortly and sharply with him if he argued, ' My claim
1 Scroft and Grosvenor Controversy, ii. 242.
a I have not overlooked the point made by him as to a name and arms
clause in a will or settlement and as to baronets, but each of these rests on a
different footing, and the decisions of the courts do not apply to the general
proposition. The common form of the name and arms clause provides that
the royal licence must be obtained, and the licence in turn declares that the
coat of arms must be registered at the College. The royal warrant under
which baronets' pedigrees must be registered at the College was dated in
December, 1782, and it applied only to baronetcies of subsequent creation
(Her. and Gen. iv. 285).
3 PP- 4> 5-
124 THE ANCESTOR
is based solely on prescription, and I deny that the other
side has any right to plead prescription at all.' Would they,
in such a case, strike out the defence as embarrassing.1 ' If
not, then (as Mr. Phillimore puts it), cadit questio.' The
period of prescription, except when explicitly altered by statute,
is no doubt the constantly-receding date of the first year of
the reign of King Richard the First, but it is not necessary to
go back to that year in order to prove a prescriptive tide,
as Mr. Phillimore very well knows. A proved user of a cen-
tury, in the absence of any seriously conflicting evidence,
would be ample ; and a considerably less period would suffice
to set up such zprima facie case as would throw the burden of
proof on to the other side.
In the case of a disputed custom, the decision would be
based (omitting legal technicalities) solely upon the evidence
brought forward by the disputants, and the one that would
prove the earliest user would win.
II
With the object of putting < X ' and Mr. Phillimore to
their proof, I have collected a considerable amount of evidence,
showing, in my opinion, that the ' old records and long practice
of centuries ' are wholly in favour of the prescriptive right to
bear arms, and that Dugdale's celebrated letter contains not a
mere ' isolated obiter dictum of a seventeenth century Garter,'
but a plain statement of the heraldic practice in use down to
his time.
The following excerpts are mostly taken from grants of
arms or crests, confirmations, and so on, and are therefore
statements by the heralds themselves. I have purposely
omitted quoting the mere textbooks, though many of them
contain passages to the like effect.2
1394. KING RICHARD II.
Rex omnibus, etc., salutem. Sciatis quod cum dilectus et fidelis consanguin-
eus noster, Thomas Comes Mariscallus et Nottingham, habet justum titulum
bereditarium ad portandum pro crista unum leopardum de auro cum
uno labello albo, qui de jure esset crista filii nostri primogeniti,
1 An embarrassing defence means ' bringing forward a defence which de-
fendant is not entitled to make use of.'
1 Some of the earlier heraldic writers have already been quoted by Sir
George Sitwell (Ancestor, i. 77, et seq.)
HERALDS' COLLEGE 125
si quern procreassemus : Nos ea consideratione concessimus pro nobis et
heredibus nostris eidem Thomz et heredibus suis, quod ipsi pro differentia
in ea parte diferre possint et diferant unum leopardum, et in loco labelli
unam coronam de argento, absque impedimento nostri vel heredum nos- trorum
supradictorurn. In cujus rei, etc. Teste R. apud Westm', 12 Januarii, anno
17 R. secundi.1
1456. GUYAN KlNGE OF ARMES
Whereas I was requested by John Bangor, gentleman, ' to search out for the
armes of the said John. Whereupon, I ... have made due search herein, and
found the right armes of the said John and his progenitors time out of mind hath
borne . . . which armes I confirme unto the said John Bangor and to his heires
of his body lawfully begotten, without any impeachment of any person, for
evermore.' *
1470. HOLME, NORROY
Egregius vir venerandusque pater . . . Petrus Hellard, Prior Canonicoruni
de Bridlyngton in comitatu Ebor', instancius multociens michi supplicaverit de
armis sue progeniei parendbus ab olim et antique jure pertinentibus, inquisicio-
nem facere diligentem.3
An English version of this grant runs thus : —
1470. HOLME, NORROY
These intire armes of his family his ancestors and their successors doe beare,
which armes of their family were for there ancestors by what they were due to
them for ever neither can tongue expresse or the memory of man recollect.*
1483.* HAWKESLOWE, CLARENCEUX. 4 Mar. 25 Edw. IV.
A Gentleman named Robert Braybroke of the County of Norfolk ... is
come to me . . . praying me that I ... would search my books of arms for
the arms of his ancestors, which he of right ought now to bear. ... I have
found his arms which of right he ought to bear, that is to witt, . . . the which
arms I ... give, grant, approve, confirm and ratify to the said gentleman
called Robert Braybroke.'
1486. CARLYLE, NORROY
There is a gentleman called Will. Crokey, otherwise called Will. Johnson, of
the County of Yorke, who hath brought unto me . . . the pitigra of his pro-
genitors, father and mother, for the W"* I have duely searched, according to
mine Office, at his instance, such armes as to him belongeth, and to him devised
the same armes w'h lawfull difference.7
» Harl. MS. 1178, f. 45.
1 Misc. Gen. et Her. i. 54 ; Harl. MS. 1507, f. 10.
3 Proc. Sac. Ant. ser. 2, xvi. 343.
4 Tonge's Visitation of Torkshire, Surtees Soc. 41, App. p. xucviii.
» The date given in the MS. is 4 March, 25 Edw. IV. ; as that king did not
reign twenty-five years, I have assumed that the twenty-third year is meant.
« Add. MS. 6297, f. 73. i Harl. MS. 1507, f. 4.
I
• .
126 THE ANCESTOR
1494. HOLME, CLARENCEUX
Wm. Green of the County of Essex, gent., whose ancestors were most in-
habitt in Yorksheere, wch gent, hath tenderly prayed and required me ... to
make good and thoroughe search for the very armes of bis •predecessors, at whose
instance ... I have found that the right armes of the said William and his
predecessors, be ; etc.1
1522. WRYOTHESLEY, GARTER
Comme ainsi soit que William Coffyn de Haddon en la Conte de Derby,
escuyer, soit descende de noble lignee et ausi longuement ait continue en noblesse,
portant armes.1
1535. HAWLEY, NORROY
Sir William West, knight, . . . being descended of an old ancyent house bear-
inge armes, hath desired me ... to make due search . . . for his right armes,
the which there I have found, that is to say : argent, a fesse betweene three
liberds heads sable, langued gules ... I ... hath devised, ordayned and
asigned to the said Sir William into his armes ... on every lepard head [a]
sirklett gold, etc.3
1536. BARKER, GARTER
For as muche as Roberte See . . . hath contynued in vertu, and he and his
auncestors contynued in nobylyty and beringe of armes, and he not willinge to
prejudice noe manner of personne, hath instantly desired and required me . . .
to make due searche throughe all my Registers for the very right armes of his said
auncestours ... I have endevored my selfe so to do. . . . and have so found
that the right armes of the said Robert See and his said auncestours and theire
predecessors been and appere in maner and fourme folowinge . . . whiche
armes ... I ... testify the same, and also ratify and confirme unto the said
Robert See and his posterity. ... In witnes whereof I ... have signed these
present letters pattentes of confirmacion with myne owne hand. *
1537. BARKER, GARTER
Credably infourmed that Richard Gresseham ... is come and discendyd
[of an] honest line and auncyent stocke, and he and his ancetors hath long con-
tynowed in nobilite and beryng armes, that is to say, silver, a chiveron ermile
[between] iij moletts sable percyd of the fylde.5
1537. HAWLEY, CLARENCEUX
John Greshame, Mersar of Londonn, . . . ys desendyd of a good howse
undefamed beryng armes under the lawse, he nott wyllyng to doo nothing that
shall be preudercall [? prejudicial] to no gentylman of name and of armes, ther
for he hathe dysired and required me to over se them and sett them in do order
and forme, and to devys and order for hym his helme, crest and mantell, w' sum
token of honner to preference the said Armes.6
' Harl. MS. 1507, f. sb. * Ibid. 1507, f. 6b.
3 Surtees Soc. 41, p. xxxix. * Misc. Gen. et Her. new ser. iii. 298.
« Ibid. ii. 312. « Ibid. ii. 311.
HERALDS' COLLEGE 127
1541. HAWLEY, CLARENCEUX
Grant of a crest to ' John Bolney of the parryshe of Bolney in the countye
of Sussex, esquire, descendid of an olde an ancyent howse, undefamed of long
tyme beryng armes.' '
1543. BARKER, GARTER
Robert Starkey of London, Mercer, ... is discended of honest lynage, and
alsoe his ancesters and predecessors hath long continued in nobility and beareing
armes.2
1543. HAWLEY, CLARENCEUX
John Wade ... is descended of an antient old house, undefamed of long
tyme beareing armes ; neuerthelesse he being uncerteyne in what forme and
manner his predecessors hath borne their creast — grant of a crest ; the arms are
not mentioned.3
1544-5. HAWLEY, NORROY
These armes are acknowledged to be the auntientt armes of West of Aughton,
com. Ebor.4
1547. DETHICK, NORROY
Francis Armar ... is discended of an antient house beareing armes, both
by the father side and the mother side neuertheless he being uncerteyne in
what sort and manner his predecessors bare their tymbre [crest], have desired
me ... to sett forth, ratifie and confirme his said armes and creast.5
1548. DETHICK, NORROY
Christopher Ashton ... is discended of an house of long tyme beareing
armes, accordingly as herein in this margent is plainely depicted, yett notwith-
standing he [is] uncertayne under what sort and manner his predecessors bare
there creast."
1552. DETHICK, GARTER
Grant of a crest to John Weld, ' whos auncestors have byn the bearers of
theis tokens and auncient armes of honnor ; and yett he, not knowing in what
manner his saide auncestors did use and beare the same, nor what creast or cog-
nisaunce therunto belongeth, hath required mee ... to assigne and sett forth
unto hym and his posteritie their saide auncient armes, so as hee and they maye
lawfully bere the samewthoute the prejudice or offence to any other person. . . .
In consideration wherof ... I have ratified confyrmed, assigned, and sett forth
to hym and his posteritie theis their saide auncyent armes.7
1555. DETHICK, GARTER
For as mouch as John Bolton ... is descended of an auncient howsse ber-
ing armes, neverthelesse he, beinge uncertayne under what sort and manner his
1 Misc. Gen. tt Her. i. 304. » Harl. MS. 1507, f. 210.
3 Ibid. 1507, f. 192. < Ibid. 1069, f. 12.
6 Ibid. 1507, f. 2o8b. « Ibid. 1507, f.2i3b. *
' Misc. Gen. tt Her. i. 10.
i28 THE ANCESTOR
predesessores bare the same with dew dyfference, hath desiered me ... to
ordeyne, assigne and set fourth his armes with a creste lefully to be borne. l
1556. HARVEY, NORROY
Beinge requyred of John Sapcote ... to make serche in the registers and
recordes in myne offyce for th' auncyent armes belonginge to that name and
famylie, and I found the same w0*1 from the begynnynge pertened to that name
and famylie whereof he is decended ; and further, consyderinge his auncesters
vertue so well begon, and so long contynued, I could not wk>wt ther grete in-
jury assigne unto hym eny other armes then those wch from the begynnynge
pertened to that howse and famylie.2
1560. DETHICK, GARTER
Whereas John Dugdale . . . being of longe time one of the bearers of theis
auncient armes, videlicet, argent, a crosse molyne gules, in the dexter quarter a
torteaux, and yet knowing certain noe creast duely appertayning thereunto.3
1560. DETHICK, GARTER
Richard Markes of Beverley, . . . gentleman, having of longe time beene
one of the bearers of thes auncient armes, viz : [etc.], and yett knowinge cer-
taine of no creast appertaininge thereunto, hath requested mee ... to assigne
[to] his said auncient armes such creast as hee may lawfully beare.4
1561. DALTON, NORROY
Being desired by Thomas Drax . . . whose ancestors have long continued
in nobleness bearing arms, tokens of honour, not only to make search in my
Registers and Records, but also to ratify under seal the said arms.6
1563. FLOWER, NORROY
Whereas Francis Haldenby and Robert Haldenby, his brother, of Haldenby
in the County of York, gent., are descended of a house long tyme bearing armes,
and being uncertain of the creast in what manner it was borne by their ances-
tors.'
1564. FLOWER, NORROY
John Kay . . . being descended of a house longe tyme bearing arms, hath
a gift of this creast graunted to his owld arms by Wm. Flower, Norroy King
of Arms. 7
1564. HARVEY, CLARENCEUX
Beinge requyred by Thorn. Penystone ... to make searche for the auncyent
armes belonging to hym from his auncestours, I have at his sute and requeste
made dyligent searche, as well in the regysters and recordes of myne offyce, as
also in the auncyent monumentes [muniments] and evydences of the said
Thomas.8
' Misc. Gen. et Her. new ser. ii. 103. * Harl. MS. 1116, f. 50.
3 Misc. Gen. et Her. new ser. iv. 103. 4 Surtees Soc. 41, p. xl.
6 Glover's Visitation of Torkshire, 1584-5, ed. Foster, p. 480.
« Ibid. p. 480. •> Ibid. p. 481. 8 Harl. MS. 1116, f. 36.
HERALDS' COLLEGE 129
1565-6. FLOWER, NORROY
Whereas Thomas Huls ... is distended of a house long tyme beareing
armes, and he, being uncertaine what manner and forme his ancesters beare
there crest, have required me ... to assigne unto these his old antient armes
a crest.1
1566. FLOWER, NORROY
Hugh Francklyn alias Franckland ... is dessended of a house long time
bearing armes, and he being uncertayne under what manner and forme his an-
cestors beare there creast, he hath required me ... to assigne these his old
auncient armes a creast.2
1568. DETHICK, GARTER
Whereas Robert Segar . . . haveing long been honoured of these antient
armes, and yet knowinge of noe creast certeyne duly appertayneing thereunto,
hath requested me ... to assure unto his said armes such crest as he may law-
fully beare.3
1568. DETHICK, GARTER
Whereas John Harrington . . . descended of a younger brother of the Har-
ringtons of Brierley, co. York, by right (as one abstract from such a stock and
descended of such auncestors) ought to be in the nomber of the bearers of those
tokens of honor ; and yet not knowinge in what maner he ought to beare his
armes, the tyme beinge now so longe since his auncesters first descended from
out of the sayd house of Brierley, hath required us, etc.4
1568. DETHICK, GARTER
William Buckmynster . . . beinge berers of thosse tokens of honnor by just
desent and prerogative of byrth from theire auncestors.6
1573. COOKE, CLARENCEUX
George Baker . . . being one of the bearars of these tokens of honor, as the
Records of my office do perfectly approve."
1575. COOKE, CLARENCEUX
John Harrison . . . hath required me ... to sett forth and allow unto
him his auncient armes, with such differences in bearing and such creast ther-
unto as may be proper.7
1578. FLOWER, NORROY
Arthur Herrys . . . being lyneally descendid from thosse of that surname
in the north panes of this Realme w'in my provynce, and so by just desent and
prerogative of byrth being on of the berers of thosse tokens of honnor, from his
auncesters, hath requyred me ... to delyver and descrybe unto hym his said
auncyent arms.8
i Harl. MS. 1507, f. 50. » Surtees Soc. 41, p. xli.
a Harl. MS. 1507, f. 216. « Misc. Gen. et Her. iii. 17.
* Harl. MS. 1116, f. 49. • Misc. Gen. et Her. ii. I.
' Surtees Soc. 41, p. xli. » Harl. MS. 1116, f. 38.
1 3o THE ANCESTOR
1581. COOK.E, CLARENCEUX
This armes and crest is allowed to be Walter Rippon of Lond., gent., coach-
maker to Q. Eliz., sonne of Jeoferie, son of Tho., son of Thomas, son of Richd,
son of John, w1* John was the son of Arnald Rippon of the County of Yorke,
gent., being the antient armes of that srname and familie, as appeares by a deed
in the xlv yeare of King Edw. the 3rd [1371-2], w<=h armes the said Walter
Rippon may beare from his ancesters.1
1581. COOK.E, CLARENCEUX
Being required of Matthew Mettcalfe, son of Lucas Metcalfe of Bedall,
gentleman, to make search in the registers and recordes of my office for the
auncient armes belonging to that name and family whereof he is descended ;
whereupon I have made search accordingly, and do finde that he may lawfully
beare, as his auncesters heretofore hath borne, the auncient armes hereafter
following, that is to say, . . . silver, three calves sable.1
1583. COOKE, CLARENCEUX
This day hath his [Sir Walter Mildmay's] sonne and heire apparent, Anthony
Mildmay, . . . shewed unto me (in the presence of dyvers other Heralds) such
auntient, credible and authenticall deedes, charters, recordes, wrytinges, evi-
dences and letters, some sealed with scales of Armes, as well of their auncestors
as of dyvers noble Erles, Barons, and other great personages ... as notwith-
standinge any doubt that might grow thorough lenght of tyme or ignorance of
evidence, it appeers cleerly that the said Sir Walter is by fourtene discentes
(from father to sonne) lineally and lawfully extracted of the body of a very
auncient gentleman of this land, called Hugh de Mildmay, who . . . lyved
about King Stephen's tyme. . . . And as the continuance of this said gentle-
man's house hath ben longe, and the discent therof (witnesse the evidences and
charters aforesaid) most direct and true (being very probable to have ben a
family of gentlemen longe beffore the farthest tyme aforesaid recyted), so it is
as manifest, by the seuerall seales of the abovenamed Henry de Mildmay senior
and Henry de Mildmay junior now remayning in the custody of the said Sir
Walter, fayre and whole at their deedes emongest the evidences aforesaid, that
an auncient cote of Armes pertayneth properly to the same house and family ;
for these two, being great grandfather on to another, beares therein their scout-
chions, circumscript with their proper names and surnames, three lyons ram-
pynge, which be azure in a feild silver, for none els in this land gyves the same,
as by most diligent searche made in the oldest and newest recordes and registers
of myne Office is to be scene and prooved. And therfore (being therunto
requested) here I have delyvered, under my hand and seall of myne Office, the
said Armes, as in the margent herof depicted more playnly is shewed. Further,
for the better contynewance therof in memory, I have subscribed a pedegree
(bearing this date) wherin orderly and verbatim be inrolled all the said deeds,
charters, wrytings and minimentes in the custody (as is aforesaid) of the said
Sir Walter. Unto whome and his heires and to the heires of his father, by
power and authority to me comytted by letters patentes under the Great Seale
of England, and by vertue of myne office aforesaid, I do by these presentes re-
» Harl. MS. 1507, f. 3|d. » Surtees Soc. 41. p. xlii.
HERALDS' COLLEGE 131
store, ratify and confirme the said armes . . . that he and they the same may
beare, use and shewe foorth, in sheild, cote armour, or otherwise, with their due
difference, at his or their pleasures, according to their auncient and true right.1
Then comes the pedigree, and after that ' a Repertory to
the Pedegree,' from which I make the following two extracts : —
Henry Mildemay of Herefordshire, as appeeres by a deede of the said Henryes
sealed with his scale of armes, bearing in a scoutchion three lyons rampant. And
this Henry myght lyve also in the said K.H. 3 dayes, for he reigned almost be.
yeres.
Henry de Miledmay of Stonehouse in Glouc', as appeeres by the said Henryes
owne deede, sealed with his Scale, bearinge lykewise in a scoutcheon three lyons
rampaund. And this Henry lyved in E. 3 reigne, for then beares his deede date.1
Cooke adds a quaint note on the variation in spelling ' in
a multitude of other gent sirnames of the lande, that length of
tyme and errours or writers have and dayly bringe into the
same case.'
He concludes thus : —
And of my certayne knowledge and experience had in my Visitacions dyvers
yeeres heertofore, there be none of this sirname of Mildemay, Mildmey, Mild-
may, or Mildemey, in England, but on this syde Trente ; where, beinge a very
rare name, I find them only in Essex, North', and Glouc', and these be all ex-
tracted of one family, and be of one self and same sirname in pronunciacion and
speache, and therfore with their orderley differences may lawfully beare (as
their auncestors did beare) argent, three lions rampinge asure.3
1584. DETHICK, GARTER
Wheireas therfore John Jackson, sonne of Jo. Jackson of Westchester hath of
longe time borne this armes and creast . . . wherfore I ... at the instant
request of the sayd John Jackson have alowed, ratified and confirmed his sayd
armes and creast to him and to his posteritye for ever.4
1584-5. GLOVER, SOMERSET
In his Visitation of 1584-5, Glover, Somerset, allowed to
William Daniell of Beswick, co. York, these arms: Quarterly;
i and 4, gules a cross gold with five eagles of gules thereon
for Daniell ; 2 and 3 azure a fesse between three martlets
silver, for Aslakeby. At the foot he adds this note : —
Carta Lucise Danyell, quondam uxoris domini Willielmi Danyell, confirmans
Roberto Danyell filio suo ; et data apud Besewyke, 1309, regno Regis Ed. filii
Ed. 3.
i Misc. Gen. et Her. ii. 192. » Ibid. p. 195.
> Ibid. p. 196. « Harl. MS. 1812, f. 47.
i32 THE ANCESTOR
And he gives a trick of the seal, representing Dame Lucy her-
self holding two shields, the dexter having the arms of Daniell
and the sinister those of Aslakeby.1
1584-5. GLOVER
To William Elioth of Middleton he allows the arms, gules
a silver cheveron between two golden molets in the chief and
a golden buck's head in the foot. He adds this note at the
foot : —
Sigill. Gawin Elioth : a chevron between 2 mullets in chief and a buck's head
in base. Hoc sigillum erat antiquum ex argento sculptum."
1584-5. GLOVER
Carta Johannis Lascy de Folketon, dat. apud Folketon, . . . anno regni
9 Richard II., is sealed with the arms ut supra, viz. sa., a chevron between 3
stags' heads arg. Sigillum Johannis Lascy .3
1584-5. GLOVER
Glover allowed these arms to Stephen Langdale of Ebber-
ston : Quarterly ; i and 4, gold a cheveron between three
molets sable, for Langdale ; 2 and 3, gules 2 cheverons gold.
No name is given for the quartering. He quotes as his
authority : —
Ex antiqua sculptura olim in fundo pelvinaris argentei fixa in ipso centro
pelvinaris, suis coloribus inamelata.4
1584-5
A coat of sable with three Catherine wheels of gold, was
allowed to John Morley of Normanby, with this note :—
This John Morley by his deed dated 19 October, 35 Henry VI. [1456], did
convey certain lands . . . with his seal of arms subscribed with these words,
' The seale of John Morley, Esq.'
A drawing of the seal is given, but no relationship is shown
between the two Johns.5
To Edward Newby of North Fenton he allows ' argent,
2 stilts in saltier sable, laced and shod or, with a label of 3
points gules, made very anciently in glass standing in the
parish church of North Fenton, both with a label or without.'
1 Glover's Visitation of Yorkshire, ed. Foster, p. 125.
'Ibid. p. 132. a Ibid. p. 160. « Ibid. p. 190. 'Ibid. p. 194.
HERALDS' COLLEGE 133
A sketch is given of this very curious coat, ' ex sigillo antique
et etiam ex fenestris antiquis valde.' '
Bate of West Lathe. Haec arma confirmantur Leonardo Bate de Lupset
in com. Ebor., generoso, et crista eodem Leonardo conceditur per Wm. Flower,
Norroy, ... 8 die Februarii, ao 1565. . . . Ita quod crista spectabat eidem
Leonardo, et non Willielmo qui nunc est de West Lath, nepoti suo ; arma di-
cuntur in eisdem literis patentibus esse gentilicia, et ideo huic Willielmo debita.
Sed quere inde melius.'
1584-5. GLOVER
When arms were known to have been granted Glover
records the fact, e.g. :—
Insignia concessa Willielmo Strickland de Boynton super le Wold per Wil-
lielmum Harvey, regem armorum, per literas patentes dat. anno 4 Ed. sexti,
15 die Aprilis, sibi et posteritati suo.3
1584—5. GLOVER, SOMERSET
The pedigree of Thwaites of Marston, co. York, was
recorded by Flower in his Visitation of 1564, but no arms are
there given. When Glover came round in 1584 he records
both arms and crest, and adds this note : —
Arma confirmantur, crista conceditur Johanni Thwaytes de Marston in Com.
Ebor., armigero, per Willielmum Flower, Norroy, per litteras patentes, datas
30 Jan. ao 1564, ao 7 Reginz Elizabethae.
This admission of Glover's is the more commendable by
reason of his complaint recorded at the foot of the pedigree:
' Misit servientem [cum] genealogia et armis, sed non solvit
feoda ! ' 4
1584-5. GLOVER
To the pedigree of Horsley of Skerpenbeck, Glover ap-
pends this terse criticism of his predecessor in Yorkshire :
These arms did anciently belong to William Horsley, knt., and do not at all
appertain to this William Horsley, albeit they were to him given by William
Flower, Norroy, a° 1563.'
' Glover's Visitation of Torkshire, ed. Foster, p. 313.
2 Ibid. p. 192. 3 Ibid. p. 165. * Ibid., p. 93.
5 Ibid. p. 1 80. One is almost tempted to suggest that William Horsley had
' sent name and county ' and — £j6 los. (or whatever the fee then was) ; but as
Flower was not one of the ' painter fellows,' but a properly constituted ' Officer
of Arms,' we had best leave it as an unsolvable mystery.
I34 THE ANCESTOR
The following notes will show that Glover was careful to
see that arms were not allowed without what he considered
sufficient proof.
He allowed to John Dodsworth of Thornton Watlass the
arms of silver with a cheveron between three hunting horns
with this note : —
Johannes Doddesworth vindicat arma de argento cum signo capital! inter
tria cornua sabulina sed quzre an sint sibi de jure debita . . . Wayte de Comi-
tatu Southampton portat arma predicta.1
1584-5. GLOVER
At the head of the pedigree of Hugh Bird of Thornthorpe,
son of Anthony Burd [sic] of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Glover
writes : —
Probaturus arma per testimonium maioris et aliorum de Novo Castro super
Tynam.a
1584-5
William Graunt of Roxby, Esq., is thus severely shown
up:—
Ignobilis, licet per cams fictitias genus suum a nobilibus derivere conaret.3
1586. COOK.E, CLARENCEUX
Being required of Thomas Holbeck ... to make searche in the regesters
and recordes of my office for the ancient arms of that name and famully whereof
he is decended, ... I ... doe finde that he is lyneally descended from the
auncient howse of the Holbechs . . . who of longe continuance hath borne for
their armes, etc.4
1586. FLOWER, NORROY
William Ferrand ... is well borne and dessended of progenitors bearing
signes and tokens of their race and gentrie called armes. ... He may beare
quarterly thesse two seuerall coats of armes, etc.6
1588. DETHICK, GARTER
By the authorite and custome of my office ... I am to take generall notice
and to make testimony and records for all matters and causes of armes, honor
and chivalry, and for all pedigrees and descents of nobles and gent ... to th'
end that auncient names and families and descents may have and enjoy theis
due ensignes of their armes ; so it is that Robert Jason . . . brought unto mee
1 Glover's Visitation of Yorkshire, ed. Foster, p. 266.
» Ibid. p. 180. » Ibid. p. 256.
« Surtees Soc. 41, p. xlil 6 Ibid.
HERALDS' COLLEGE 135
then his armes, depicted in an old parchment booke of their pedegrees, left
unto hime by his ancessors, required me ... to take notice and to make gen-
erall testimony of record for him ... of the sheild of his armes and creast . . .
as of due right belonging unto their auntient name and famile ; In regard wherof
I have blaze and exemplified the same by theise presentes.1
1592. DETHICK, GARTER
Whereas by the authority and custome of my office, from the Queenes most
Excellent MaWe and her most noble Progenitors, I am to take generall notice
and record and to make publique declaration and testimony of all cause of
armes ... to the end that like as some by their auntient names . . . and de-
scents have, use and enjoy these ensignes and coates of armes, so others for theire
. . . vertues . . . and desertes . . . bee knowne ... by these eschocheons
of honor . . . wherefor being solissited and by credible report informed that
John Eldred . . . who is descended of auntient linage . . . and being requested
to make declaration and testimonie for his armes as may best agree with the
recordes and proofe shewed in my office, I ... doe signifie, conferme, blazen
and exemplifie this sheild or coat of armes to the said John Eldred, as rightly
discending unto him from John Eldred his father and other his auncestors be-
fore named.*
1593. DETHICK, GARTER
Upon intelligence and proof made in my office by Robert Lee, late elected
one of the Aldermen of this City of London, the sonn of Umph. Lee, decended
from Reginall Lee, chief patron and founder of the Parish Church of Lee in the
County of Stafford, as by their evidences and Court Rolls is manifest ; and for
that the said Reginall Lee of Lee, auncester to the said Robert, . . . did beare
in his scale and monument this forme and sheld of armes, as in testimonie in
Records thereof made may appeare ; and for more perfect demonstracion and
record, I have thought good to signifie and declare . . . the said antient sheild
and coate of armes.3
1596. DETHICK, GARTER
This armer wtboutt the canton is acknowledged to bee the auntientt armes
of Sir Alexander Lowndes, kt., and confirmd to Tho. Lownde [sic], com. Line.,
per Wm. Dethick, Garter.4
1599. SEGAR, NORROY
Quum Jacobus Pennyman, . . . pro suo erga paternam familiam amore,
a me petiit ut scuto ... a majoribus familiae suae ab antique gesto et usitato,
cristam . . . assignarem ; ego . . . arma . . . prout fuerint usitata, unacum
crista . . . declaranda duxi.5
1600. CAMDEN, CLARENCEUX
Forasmuch as it evidently and plainely appeareth by divers and sundry
auncient evidence, dated the fieft yeare of King Edward the third, that the
i Harl. MS. 1470, f. 57. a Ibid. 1172, f. 43.
» Ibid. 1507, f. 10. « Ibid. 1069, f. 37.
s Surtees Soc. 41, p. xliv.
136 THE ANCESTOR
ancestors of George Hyde of South Denchworth in the county of Berks, Esquier,
have heretofore in their scales used for their devise or cognizaunce a lance or
horseman's staff, with a flagge or cornet thereat, etc. ; And being required by
the said George Hyde, esquier, to ratefie and confirme unto him the said devise,
empresse or cognizance, have at his request ratefied and confirmed, and by theis
presentes doe ratefie and confirme, etc.1
1602. DETHICK. AND CAMDEN
Whereas wee have been credibly informed that George Smithes . . . hath
and may use and beare this shield or Coate of Armes . . . And forasmuch as the
testimony and record for all matters and causes of armes, honor, and pedigrees
doth appertayne to our Offices, we have thought good to blaze and exemplifie
the same.2
1608. HERALD NOT MENTIONED
Being required by Mr. John Morgan ... to sett downe his paternall coate,
with his due differences, discended unto him from his ancesters . . . Know all
men that he doth and may beare ... the which coate and creast I doe allowe,
ratifie and confirme.3
1612. SEGAR, GARTER
Whereas William and George Chaundler . . . doe beare for their ancient
coate armor [etc.], and wantinge further for an ornament unto the same a con-
venient creast or cognizance fitt to be borne, I ... have appointed and as-
signed them such a one as they may lawfully beare.*
1603-33. UNDATED. SEGAR, GARTER
Theis Armes belongd to Reynald Chowning alias Chevening of Chevening
in Com. Kent, as are proved by antient deeds and seales of Sir Adam Chevening,
tempore Edw. 2 quinto, and of John de Chevening for rent levied in Sandrich,
2510 Edw. 3tii. Thus subscribed, Willm Segar, Garter Principall King of
Armes, to an eschochion on vellam.6
1603-33. UNDATED. SEGAR, GARTER
Whereas I ... doe fynd by antient deeds and other testimonyes of anti-
quity to me produced, that this Coate of Armes herein depicted hath of long tyme
byn properly borne by the name of Wigfall in the Countve of Derby. And ther-
fore doe hereby under my hand confirme the same, as in right yt duely apper-
tayneth, to Zachary, the sonne of George Wigfall, lyneally discended from the
predecessors of his name and family.6
1612. CAMDEN, CLARENCEUX
Being required of John Merkaunt ... to make search in the registers and
records of my Office for the auncient armes belonging to that name and famely
1 Misc. Gen. et Her. new ser. iii. 53. " Ibid. ii. 96.
3 Harl. MS. 1507, f. igsb. * Ibid. 1172, f. gb.
* Ibid. 1144, f. 16. « Ibid. 1410, f. 46.
HERALDS' COLLEGE 137
whereof hee is descended, ... I have made search accordinglie, and doe finde
that his auncestors have of long time borne for their auncient coate of armes . . .
and for that I finde noe creast to the same armes, as to many auncient coates
ther is none, hee hath required me ... to deliver unto him his said auncient
armes with a creast ... for the accomplishment whereof I ... have assigned
given and graunted ... to his auncient armes for his creast, etc.1
1612. ST. GEORGE, NORROY
Knowe ye that by the authentic of my Office from the Kinges Most Ex-
cellent Majestic by his letters patients under the Create Scale of England for
all matters and caussis of armes, pedegres, and descents of honnor and chivalry,
my predecessors formerly have been and I am accustomed to make declaration
and testimony of the shildes and coates of armes, creastes and cognoscences
descended unto gentlemen either from their auncestors or by desertes given unto
them as signes and tokenes of their valorous and faithfull service to ther Prince
and Countrey, eyther in warr or peace . . . and being required of Thomas
Charlton ... to make search in the regesters and recordes of myne Office for
the Armes belonging to that name and family .which at his gentle request I have
don accordingly, and doe finde that he may beare, as his auncesters have don
before him, etc.1
1612. ST. GEORGE, NORROY
At the head of the pedigree of Withes of Copgrove are
recorded these arms : —
Azure, three griffins passant in pale, gold. Mr. Charles Withes of Cop-
grove shewed this coate, but could make no proof of it, but saith he was de-
scended from Withes of Norfolke.3
1613. ST. GEORGE, NORROY
Whereas John Tenaunt ... is very well descended of an auncient family,
and is very well allyed, and of good estate, reputation and quallytye, and doth
challenge as belonging to his name and blood thease armes : Ermine, two
barres sables, charged with three besants ; and hath required the said Norroy
to allowe and confirme the said armes unto the said John Tenantt and his
yeares [sic ; ? heirs], that they may remaine readye to be shewed, and
registred and recorded, as they ought to be, and as belongeth to my said office :
Now I ... haveing made search and dew inquirey of the premisses, and finding
such good causes that the said John Tenant should be knowne, accepted, . . .
and registerd amongst gentlemen, and of so vertuos behavor in the comon wealth,
and of such worth and desert to beare armes, have thought good to condesend
to his just request, and doe . . . give, grante, allowe, confirme, and examplifv
unto the said John Tenantt, gentleman, and his heires, the said armes blazed as
afforesaid.1
» Harl. MS. 1172,^9.
* Misc. Gen. et Her. new ser. iv. 109.
» Glover's Visitation of Torkshire, ed. Foster, p. 591.
« Surtees Soc. 41, p. xlvii.
'38
THE ANCESTOR
1613. ST. GEORGE, NORROY
Being requested by George Lacock ... to assigne unto him the armes of
his ancestors in such manner as he and his posterity may lawfully beare the same
... I have therfore assigned unto him theise theire said armes, . . . and
finding no creast of right belonging to the aforesaid armes, I have likewise
assigned this creast.1
1614. CAMDEN, CLARENCEUX
Know yee, that whereas by the authority of my Office from the King's most
excellent Majesty under the great Scale of England for all matters and causes of
armes, I have been accustomed to make declaracion and to testifie of shieldes,
coates of armes, creasts and cognizances, discended to gentlemen either from
their ancestors, or by desearts given to them as signes and tokens of their vertue
valour and faithfull service to their Prince and Country, either in warre or peace,
whereby they should bee incouraged to goe forward in all vertue and noblenes,
that they and their posterity may for ever be enrolled amongst the gentry.2
1614. CAMDEN, CLARENCEUX
Whereas Robert Syer . . . being discended of a family antiently beareing
armes, hath requested me to make search how he may beare his armes wthout
prejudice to any of the said family and surname, and the same to exemplifie,
emblazen and testifie.3
1617. CAMDEN, CLARENCEUX
Whereas Edward Bishe . . . being descended of a family . . . who were
sometyme the owners of a mannor called the mannor of Bish, . . . and is not
onely able to prove the antiquity of the said family by divers other descents, by
writeings and evidences to me produced and shewed forth, but alsoe by beareing
of armes.4
1622. CAMDEN, CLARENCEUX
The due consideration hereof [i.e. letters patent of baronetcy] hath moved
me ... to peruse and view sundry wills, testaments, records and other evi-
dences, shewed and presented unto me by the said Sir Hugh Middleton to be
well borne and descended of such as have borne armes and tokens of their race
and gentry.5
1624. ST. GEORGE, CLARENCEUX
Wheras William Cage, esquire, one of the Ouster-barristers at Lawe of Lin-
coln's Inne, . . . hath requested me ... to make search how his ancestours
did and how hee may beare their ancient armes, and the same to exemplifie,
blason, testifie, confirme and alowe."
» Harl.MS. 1170,1. 22.
2 Ibid. 1172, f. 10. Camden used the same formula in 1612; see Misc.
Gen. et Her. i. 228.
3 Harl. MS. 1507, f. 173. « Ibid. 1507, f. i83b.
5 Ibid. 1507, f. l8ob. « Ibid. 1470, f. 43 ; 1507, f. 196.
HERALDS' COLLEGE 139
1628. SEGAR, GARTER
Declare quod Guliclmus Turbett ... ex antiqua et insigni familia ejusdem
nominis oriundus sit, et arma istius portal.1
1631. ST. GEORGE, CLARENCEUX
Wheras it apperteineth unto mee by reason of my office of Clarenceux to
certifie and declare the descents and armes of such as are gent, of birth and blood,
and to distinguish them from others of meane ranke and quality, ... I have at
the jnst and lawfull request and desire of George Thorold of Boston in the
County of Lincolne, gent., made search and inquiery into his blood and family,
and doe finde as well by a very old scale of armes at this tyme in his custody, as
by other credible and good sufficient testimony, that hee the said George is a
branche of the family of the Thorolds of that County, and that hee and his
ancestors have for severall descents borne the armes of the said family with a
distinction and difference, w011 difference tyme hath so defaced as it cannot bee
well descerned ; > for w011 reasons and consideracions hee hath requested me to
assigne unto his foresaid armes some such certayne distinction as may be properly
borne by him and his descendants for ever »
1632. ST. GEORGE, CLARENCEUX
Being required by Leonard Browne . . . whose ancestors have for many
descents lived in reputacion and borne armes as properly belong to their name
and family, yet wanting a creast therunto, etc.*
1633. BURROUGHS, GARTER
Know yee that Moore Fauntleroy, gent., sonne of John Fauntleroy, gent.,
the onely sonne of William Fauntleroy . . . who bare for his coate armour . . .
which armes they and their auncestors have borne tyme out of minde ; and now
being desired ... to imblazon and sett forth his said coate of armes . . . the
which armes and creast ... I ... do by theise presents declare, assigne, con-
firme and grant unto the aforesaide Moore Fauntleroy.*
1634. ST. GEORGE, CLARENCEUX
Being required by Peter Faringdon alias Farnden ... to make search in
the registers and recordes of myne office for his descent, and for such armes as
aunciently to that family appertaineth . . . and allso hath desired my exem-
plificacion and attestacion in that behalfe ... I do herby publish and declare
his armes to bee as followeth, etc."
1634. LE NEVE, NORROY
Whereas Sir William Robinson . . . knight, is desirous to alter and change
his creast and some partes of the bearing of his paternall armes, which by right
of desent belong unto him as cheife and eldest of his family.7
1 Surtees Soc. 41, p. xlbc. » Referring apparently to the seal.
Harl. MS. 1470, f. 24. « Ibid. 1470, f. 13.
• Ibid. 1470, f. 153. • Ibid. I470,f. 5.
7 Surtees Soc. 41, p. xlix.
1 4o THE ANCESTOR
1638. HENRY ST. GEORGE, NORROY
The auntient armes of the familey of Bavand of the citty of Chester, as it
hath byn borne by that familey, and so standith upon severall monuments in
St. Werburges Church and other Churches in the sayd Citty ; to wch auntient
armes I have . . . assigned this creast . . . wch sayd armes and creast above
depicted I do confirme and ratyfie, etc.1
1653. RYLEY, NORROY
Wheras Samuell Rowe of Macclesfeld ... is lineally discended of the
auntient and generous family of the Rowes of Macclesfeild aforesaid, whose name
and family have auntiently borne for their coate armour as followeth ... as
appeareth by verie good testimonie, and the said coate armour was carved in
stone upon the steeple of Macclesfeild at the foundation therof, which is there
to be scene at this day. And wheras also it doth not appeare unto me what creast
doth properly belong to that family, I ... have added and assigned unto the
said coate armour, as aforesaid, this creast . . . w"* creast with the armes afore-
said I doe by these presents confirme.2
1657. RYLEY, NORROY
Wheras William Cholwich of Cholwich in the county of Devon, gent., who
is lyneally discended from that auntient and generous family of Cholwich afore-
said . . . whose name and family have auntiently borne for their coate armour
three cheverons and a file of as many lambeauxes (as by seuerall old deeds seales
[sic] with the said armes may appeare), but because there are noe collours to the
said armes, and that by the injury and length of tyme, and other misfortunes, it
hath happened that the tymber, helme and creast unto the said family belonging,
cannot for the present be founde ; I . . . doe by these presentes certifie and
declare that the said William Cholwich . . . may beare the said armes in this
manner, viz., per pale or and argent, three cheverons sable, ouer all a file of as
many lambeauxes gules, with this creast . . . which coate and creaste I ...
doe by these presentes certifie and declare that the said William Cholwich and
his posterity may lawfully beare . . . for ever.3
1660. WALKER, GARTER
Whereas the descent and armes of the family of Bulteel is entered in the
Visitation of the City of London made in the year 1633, by which it is evident
that the said family is originally of the City of Turnay in Flanders ; and whereas
it doth farther appeare unto mee that those of that surname and family have
aunciently borne another coate of armes then what is entred in the said Visit-
ation, I ... hereby ratify and confirm . . . the auncient coate of armes so
borne and used, etc.4
1665. DUGDALE, NORROY
This family [the Foljambes] have for many ages used their armes w* sup-
porters ; viz. an antilope quarterly sable and or, and a tyger ar.B
i Misc. Gen. et Her. i. 278. * Harl. MS. 1470, f. 64.
' Ibid. 1470, f. 147. * Misc. Gen. et Her. new ser. iv. 421.
s Visitation of Yorkshire, Surtees Soc. 36, p. 53.
HERALDS' COLLEGE 141
1665. DUGDALE, NoRROY
Note to the pedigree of Frankland of Thirkelby : —
Qu. how this family is descended from Hugh Frankland of Nelling in co.
Ebor. to whom these armes were granted by W. Flower, Norroy.1
1665. DUGDALE, NORROY
Note to the pedigree of Simpson of Ryton : —
He produced these armes depicted on a tablet. Qu : for better proofe.'
1666. DUGDALE, NORROY
He allows to John Otway of Ingmer Hall, silver with a
cheveron sable, over all a pile azure counterchanged ; and adds
this note : —
For proofe of these armes he voucheth his father's seale, who died at the age
of 88 yeares.8
The father died 10 Feb. 1648.
1671. [Herald not mentioned; probably WALKER, GARTER]
Whereas [William, Christopher, James, and Simon Smith] . . . sons of
Christopher Smith . . . have desired me to assigne them such collers [tic] as
they may lawfully beare unto a coate that they have a very just and resonable
pretense unto, having a seale of there grandfather's, Walter Smith, . . . and
seuerall auntient deeds and evidenses sealed with the same, many of which I
have seene and perused ; and being willing to gratefie so many worthey persons
in theire so just a request, by the authority committed to me under the Great
Seale of England, I doe assigne unto . . . them . . . thease collers following,
viz : on a feild or 3 martletts purpure, untill upon dilligent serch they shall find
what were the originall collers of the said coate of armes and seale they doe pre-
tend unto.4
Ill
The evidence here printed has been collected from such
MSS. and printed sources as were most readily available at
the British Museum. I must apologize for the length of it,
but it was absolutely necessary to give a large number of ex-
amples. Otherwise I should be met with the airy pooh-pooh
that they were mere isolated instances of good-natured laxity.
1 Visitation of Yorkshire, Surtees Soc. 36, p. 78.
' Ibid. p. 124.
3 Ibid. p. 385.
« Harl. MS. 1172, fo. 39.
K
142 THE ANCESTOR
Little comment is needed, but I may be allowed to point
out one or two of the more striking cases.
There is a goodly number of cases where the arms are
allowed and certified on the strength of old seals ; one of an
enamelled shield formerly in the bottom of a bowl ; one of a
glass window in a church ; two of monuments in churches ;
one of a shield carved on a church tower ; one of arms
' depicted on a tablet,' which Dugdale recorded in 1665, with
the note, c Qu. for better proofe.' In one of the seal cases,
in 1666, Dugdale allowed a coat to John Otway, for which he
vouched his father's seal ; the father died in 1648, aged 88,
and was therefore bore in 1560. In this case we have a user
of less than a century if the seal really was the father's and
not older, for the father would hardly have a seal of his arms
when he was six years old.
There are two cases where the authority cited is a heraldic
manuscript, not a Visitation, and apparently not emanating
from any herald. One of these is the well-known collection
of the arms of mayors of Newcastle-on-Tyne.1 The other
was a parchment book of pedigrees produced to William
Dethick in 1588. As this is not stated to be a copy of a
visitation pedigree, or indeed to be the work of a herald at all,
we may fairly assume that it was not. Yet on the strength of
this, Garter allows the arms ' as of due right,' and exemplifies
the same accordingly.
There are two remarkable cases in which prescription, user
— call it what you will — actually overrides a grant. The first
of these is the Mildmay case in 1583. Sir Walter Mildmay
had obtained a grant from Gilbert Dethick, Garter, in 1554,
of azure with a silver bend and a sable pegasus thereon. In
1583 he produced some old family seals showing that his
ancestors bore silver with three lions of azure,2 which coat
Cooke thereupon proceeded to ' restore, ratify and confirme.'
In the Bulteel case of 1660, the arms had been entered at
the visitation of Loudon in 1633, but on being shown that
the family had ' aunciently borne another coate of armes,'
Walker, Garter, ratifies and confirms ' the auncient coate of
armes so borne and used.'
1 Printed at the end of Tonge's Visitation of the Northern Counties, Surtees
Society, vol. 41.
1 It is not clear whence the colours were derived, as no authority but that
of the seals is cited.
HERALDS' COLLEGE 143
Finally, there are two cases of most striking significance,
the granting of colours to arms proved by seals which did not
show the colours. These are the Cholwich grant by Ryley,
Norroy, in 1657, and the Smith grant in 1671, probably by
Walker, Garter. In each of these cases colours were assigned
to the arms, in the later case until the ' original! collers ' be
found, and in neither case is anything granted but the colours.
If we place a selection of the terms used by the heralds in
a tabular form, the recognition of a prescriptive right is shown
very clearly.
i 394. habet justum titulum hereditarium.
1456. the right armes . . . his progenitors time out of mind hath borne.
1470. ab olim et antique jure.
1470. neither can the memory of man recollect.
1486. such arms as to him belongeth . . . with lawfull difference.
1 494. the very armes of his predecessors.
1522. ausilonguement . . . portant armes.
IS35- an old ancyent house bearinge armes.
1536. the very right armes of his said auncestours and their predecessors.
1537. his ancetors hath long contynowed . . . beryng armes.
1 537- a good howse undefamed beryng armes.1
1556. th' auncyent armes belonginge to that name and famylie . . . wch
from the begynnynge pertened to that howse and famylie.
I 564. the auncyent armes belonging to hym from his auncestours.
1568. haveing long been honoured of these antient armes.
1568. by right . . . ought to be in the nomber of the bearers of those
tokens of honor.
1568. berers of thosse tokens of honnor by just descent and prerogative of
byrth from theire auncestors.
1581. may beare from his ancesters.
1581. he may lawfully beare, as his auncesters heretofore hath borne.
1 5 84-5- armor dicuntur . . . esse gentilicia, et ideo . . . debila.
1586. dessended of progenitors bearing signes and tokens . . . called armes.
'S92- rightly discending unto him from his father . . . and other his
auncestors.
1599. scutum . . . a majoribus familiae suae ab antique gestum et usitatum.
1612. his auncestors have of long time borne for their auncient coate of
armes.
1633. their auncestors have borne tyme out of minde.
1653. whose name and family have auntiently borne for their coate armour.
1671. a coate that they have a very just and resonable pretense unto.
I confidently submit that, to any unbiassed mind, to any
one who is not obsessed with a preconceived idea, or who is
not personally interested in upholding the contrary view, the
1 This, with slight variations, is a very common form.
144 THE ANCESTOR
evidence here put forward confirms Dugdale's statement, and
clearly proves that down to his time the ordinary practice of
the kings of arms was to recognize and allow as of right all
arms that were proved by a reasonable length of user, and
which did not infringe the rights of other persons.
W. PALEY BAILDON.
(To be continued?)
EARLY FOURTEENTH CENTURY
COSTUME
THE MS. from which we draw these illustrations1 is one
of notable importance. Its first part has the story of the
graal, the dish out of which the last supper was eaten and which
received the blood of Christ. This holy dish was carried by
Joseph of Arimathea to England. The second part of the MS.
tells of the quest of the wonder-working graal by the knights
of the Round Table. At the end is the story of the death of
Arthur. The MS. has been in many famous hands. On one
page we have the signatures of Elysabetb the kyngys do-wtber,
afterwards queen to Henry VII. ; Cecyl the kyngys dowtber, who
married John, Viscount Welles ; and Jane Grey. Other owners
have left their mark. Ceste li-vre est a may Richard Roos chmaler,
very coarsely written, has been misread into a statement of
ownership by Richard Rex Anglie. Tbys boke ys myne dame
Alyanor Haute proclaims another lady whose lone fingers have
turned these tall leaves, and on the last fly-leaf we have E.
Wydevyll, the mother of the ladies Elizabeth and Cecily.
The little pictures at the chapter heads are of the greatest
interest to the student of costume, and more especially to the
student of arms and armour. Although they are probably by
French artists, they are near enough to the English work to assist
us in our study of English costume. We are here in the first
quarter of the fourteenth century. Armory is ad ast coming to
its full value as a decoration. The charges upon shields and
alettes are drawn delicately and surely, as will be shown by the
lion upon the shield of the evil King Tholomes. In only one
case are they borne upon the knight's coat, of which two prin-
cipal forms are shown ; the one a sleeveless or short sleeved
coat of stout stuff", the other a sleeveless garment of a thinner and
lighter web, hanging in light folds and resembling the surcoat
of the thirteenth century in all but its shortened skirts. The
armour draws attention by the 'alettes' worn by nearly all the
knights. These curious pieces come first into use in the last
' MS. Royal, 14 E. iii. Brit. Mus.
146
146 THE ANCESTOR
quarter of the thirteenth century and the fashion endures for
some fifty years. Fastened by laces and tags to the back or
side of the shoulder they filled several uses. They helped to
cover the weak spot at the armpit which the knight who would
use his arms freely must perforce leave ill protected. Like
the high ridged plates of a later period they offered some de-
fence against a sweeping sword blow at the neck, and above
all they offered a new field for the work of the arms-painter.
Were they not sometimes found unemblazoned this last reason
might have been pressed as the main argument for their use.
That their adornment was sometimes of the richest is shown
by the inventory of the goods of the wretched Piers de Gava-
ston who owned alettes 'garnished and fretted with pearls.'
Their shape is usually square or oblong but the round and other
shapes have been noted. In one of our pictures a very rare
form is seen — the lozenge shaped. That this is not an oblong
alette canted sidelong is shown by the cross upon it.
Plates are remarkably infrequent, nothing being seen of
them but here and there a knee cop and greave, most of the
knights being head to foot in mail. The round bason shaped
bassinet occurs and the great helm, strengthened by bars and
stays and with a high pointed top. There are no crests,
although the two knights jousting with blunt lances wear
streaming from the summit of the helm two long cords,
knotted and tasselled, and the helm of the strange knight in
the wood has a splendid scarf. The two knights on trapped
horses wear from their helms long scarves with ends like
stoles.
Galahad and the strange knight speaking with him have
the latest fashion in headpieces, a bassinet with a movable
vizor, which vizor is shown pushed back over the crown.
148 THE ANCESTOR
HERE EVALACH FALLS UPON THE HOST OF THOLOMES, KING
OF BABYLON, IN A SORTIE FROM THE CITY OF ORK.ANZ
The knights for the most part cover their heads with coifs
of mail. One or two round-topped bassinets are seen and
helms with pointed tops. The alettes, where worn, are square.
No plates upon legs or arms. The body is covered with a
loose coat reaching to the knee, and here sleeveless. These
red and blue coats are not blazoned with arms, and are drawn
as though of a stout material.
HERE EVALACH SENDS HIS SERJEANT TO SPY UPON THE DOINGS
OF THOLOMES AND HIS HOST
The serjeant, as he pricks forward over the drawbridge of
Evalach's castle, is of the normal type of the fully armed
man at arms as we have him in these pictures. No plates are
seen, the banded mail covering head and foot. The blue coat
edged with white lines is here worn with a loose sleeve.
150 THE ANCESTOR
HERE THE WHITE KNIGHT, WHO COMES TO AID EVALACH IN
HIS CAPTIVITY, TAKES THE BRIDLE OF TnOLOMES, AND
LEADS HIM AWAY, BEING INVISIBLE TO ALL BUT EvALACH
Evalach and Tholomes wear great crowns over their coifs
of mail. The mysterious white knight who cut a son col un
blanc escu a une vermeils crois has the same bearing upon his
coat. King Tholomes has a red shield upon which is a white
lion passant (drawn as though a rampant lion were turned
athwart the shield). His square alettes have the same lion,
whilst those of Evalach are black with a white luce or other
fish. The skirts of Evalach's coat are very loose and full,
and seem to follow an older fashion than most of the coats
here shown.
HERE FLEGENTYNE THE GOOD WIFE OF NASCIENS GOES TO
THE OLD VAVASOUR, WHO RECEIVES HER LOYALLY l
The lady, be she Flegentyne or Sarracynte, gives us a good
example of the dress of a woman of rank. Her hair is
wrapped up in a red net or kerchief with white spots and
bound round the brows and chin with a white band. Her
upper gown reaching nearly to the ground has a wide hood
and long sleeves. These sleeves hang at her sides, her arms
being thrust through armholes cut below the shoulders. Here
is an early instance of those false gown-sleeves which endured in
English fashions as late as the ceremonial gowns of the seven-
teenth century. The under gown is long skirted and tight sleeved.
The foremost gentleman has a hooded coat to the knee with
loose sleeves half way down the forearm. Another coat of
the same length and worn below the other has tight sleeves
buttoned from elbow to wrist. His head has a white coif.
The second and third gentlemen have party-coloured hosen.
1 This seems the most probable explanation of the picture which neverthe-
less may represent the baronage coming to ask pardon of Queen Sarracynte.
152 THE ANCESTOR
HERE FLEGENTYNE BIDS THEM BUILD THREE TOMBS NEAR
TARABEL
Flegentyne and her lady-in-waiting wear white wimples
and kerchiefs, and upper gowns very loose with large hoods.
Their under-sleeves are tight and buttoned. The head cover-
ing of the master carver who receives her bidding is an early
form of the turban hat with its liripipe, which was to become
so popular in the later middle ages.
HOW THE SHIRT OF JOSEPH SPREAD UPON THE SEA CARRIES A
GREAT COMPANY OVER TO BRITAIN
The gentleman and his wife are the most noteworthy
figures. His hooded coat of red is slit from the fork of the leg
to the knee, and has buttons down the breast. He and his
wife have each short loose sleeves over tight sleeves to the
wrist. The bishop has a blue chasuble with a red amice.
54 THE ANCESTOR
How NASCIENS ABOARD OF SOLOMON'S SHIP is FOUND BY AN
ADMIRAL \amiraus] AND HIS FLEET, AND HOW THEY GIVE
HIM FOOD FOR RUTH AND PITY
How NASCIENS is AWAKENED OUT OF HIS SLEEP ON THE SHIP
Seemingly it is a male figure which hands to Nasciens the
large round loaf, and it may be the amiraus himself thus
hooded for seafaring. His head is wrapped in a white coif
or kerchief under the red hood. The knights have large
oblong alettes with their arms — silver with a fesse and label of
gules — and gules with a silver eagle. Here again we see the
hat worn by the master carver of the last picture.
156 THE ANCESTOR
HERE THE SINFUL BADEMAGUS, WHO HAS RIDDEN INTO THE
FOREST HAVING ABOUT HIS NECK. THE SHIELD WHICH BRINGS
EVERY MAN WHO BEARS IT TO HARM, IS MET BY THE STRANGE
WHITE KNIGHT, WHO DRIVES HIS LANCE THROUGH HIS
SHOULDER. THE WHITE KNIGHT BIDS THE SQUIRE TAKE
THE SHIELD TO GALAHAD
The squire, as the serjeant in an earlier picture, has no
alettes, which would suggest at first sight that alettes belong
only to the full equipment of the greater folk in arms. This
however is disproved by the fact that we see them worn by the
squire in a later picture of this series. The white knight and
the squire have each broad sword-belts.
HOW THE STRANGE KNIGHT IN THE WOOD TELLS GALAHAD
THE STORY OF THE SHIELD
The headpieces of the two knights take the most advanced
form shown in these pictures, a round bassinet with a large
movable vizor, which vizor is lighted in one case with a broad
slit athwart the eyes and in the other with round holes.
Galahad's lozenge-shaped alettes show a very rare form. It will
be seen that in sidelong figures the alettes are worn sidelong,
but full faced figures, and figures such as this white knight,
show the alettes in the position which the effigies would teach
us was their natural one, that at the back of the shoulder.
158 THE ANCESTOR
HERE MELIANS, GALAHAD'S SQUIRE, RIDES ON THE ADVENTURE
OF THE CROWN, WHICH HE HANGS OVER HIS ARM, AND
THEREUPON A STRANGE KNIGHT RUNS AT HIM AND TAKES
THE CROWN AWAY
Melians and the strange knight wear sugarloaf helms
strengthened by bands. The equipment of the strange knight
is worthy of note. He wears knee-cops and greaves — the
first we have yet noted in this series — and from the point of
his helm streams a splendid forked mantle of great size and
length.
HERE GAWAIN, GHEHERIES, AND YWAIN MEET WITH THE
SEVEN BROTHERS FROM THE CASTLE OF DAMSELS AND
SLAY THEM ALL
The seven brothers being shown as eight, we have here
seven helmed heads and four with uncovered faces. The
arms on shields and alettes are very boldly drawn, but it will
be observed that we have again no bearings on the coats.
Gawain's shield is of silver with a quarter of gules.
160 THE ANCESTOR
How GALAHAD COMES TO A CASTLE WHERE THERE is A
TOURNEY BETWEEN THOSE WITHIN AND THOSE WITHOUT.
HERE HE HAS UNHORSED GAWAIN, WHO, WITH ECTOR,
IS AIDING THE OUTSIDERS.
Galahad's helm, shield, alettes, and sword-belt are all
characteristic of the period. His adversary has knee-cops and
greaves.
1 62 THE ANCESTOR
This picture of two knights riding up to take the one a
triangular pennon, the other a square banner, is valuable as
showing the fully-trapped horse, whose trappers are here of
moderate length. The streamers from the helms, long and
stole-like, will be noted, and the blazoned trumpet banner.
The arms upon the pennon are of gules with a green
cheveron between three molets of gold. The square banner
is of sable with three golden eagles between two silver bends.
As these arms recur in the decorations of the book, they have
in them some clue to its first owner.
164 THE ANCESTOR
The sword and buckler play of this picture is with very
heavy singlehanded swords and round bucklers of about
eighteen inches in width. The banner of the bagpipe has, like
the trumpet banners of Chaucer, come to be decorated with a
blazon. One swordsman wears the familiar linen coif tied
under the chin. Both would seem to have gowns of three-
quarter length, kilted up in their girdles for ease in the sword
play. These gowns follow the long-established fashion or
large armholes and loose sleeves, tightening below the elbow.
1 66 THE ANCESTOR
This most spirited picture of a joust shows the lance
couched and directed with hand and elbow. From the points
of the tall helms float long cords knotted here and there, and
ending in tassels. The lances have blunt coronels in place of
sharp heads, and are about twelve feet long.
The grotesque figure above grasps in the hand at the end
of its tail a good example of the knightly sword — at this period
a singlehanded one.
CASES FROM THE EARLY CHANCERY
PROCEEDINGS
[Every now and again a fresh ' reserve ' is thrown open, and we all troop in.
We have not exhausted the territories which were open to us before, but
we are all eager to browse over the new ground. The appearance of a new
list, or of a new calendar, are the great events of life for some of us.
Thus the List of Early Chancery Proceeding, now being issued, has opened
for us a wonderful collection of the most varied human interest. For
later periods, when abundant evidence is available from other sources, the
records of the Court of Chancery are invaluable, as the amazing pedigree
contributed by Mr. Edward Alexander Fry to the Ancestor has very
aptly demonstrated ; and their value is certainly not less over a period
when testamentary documents are relatively rare and parish registers non-
existent. The list, at any rate, has given me great pleasure, and I hope
that by copying a few of the cases, and by trying to show how they com-
pare with the information obtainable elsewhere, I may make my
acknowledgments.]
I. THE LADY CLINTON
A LADY is mentioned in the printed Calendar of Inquisitions
Post Mortem, Henry VII. vol. i., who has always seemed
to me to be entitled to a place in the { Peerages,' but whose
name I have never been able to find there. By a writ of diem
clausit dated 18 October, 1496, the escheator in Essex is
ordered to inquire what lands were held by ' Margaret, late
the wife of John Hevenyngham, knight.' It was found,
accordingly, by inquisition on 10 November following that
'Thomas Selynger and John Hevenyngham, knights,' being
seised of a third of the manor of Stanstede Mountfichet, gave
it to ' Lady Margaret Clynton, widow, late the wife of Walter
Hungerford, esquire,' for life, with remainder to the heirs of
Walter's body ; that she was seised of the said third accord-
ingly, and that she died, I February, 1495-6, leaving Nicholas
Hungerford, aged 27 and more, her son and heir, who is also
heir of the body of the said Walter.
It would appear from this that she was thrice married, to
Clinton, Hungerford and Hevenyngham successively, and it is
clear that such a claim as I have advanced on her behalf must
be in respect of her match with Clinton. She does not how-
Mi
1 68 THE ANCESTOR
ever occur in any pedigrees of the Lords Clinton that I have
been able to see, and in the absence of some particular descrip-
tion of her first husband there did not seem much hope of
establishing her rights, if they existed, to the distinction.
Still, in a pedigree of her second husband, entered at the
Visitation of Wilts in 1623, and in, apparently, the best MS.
of it, I found her described in much the same way, for it is
recorded that ' Walterus Hungerford duxit relictam Domini
de Clinton,' though in a pedigree of the Hungerford family,
entered similarly at the Visitation of Gloucestershire, her first
marriage is ignored and she appears merely as 'Margaret,
daughter of John St. Leger.'
The memory becomes stored with similar little conun-
drums, waiting on circumstance for their solution. Half for-
gotten, they re-emerge, to make the new list, or new calendar,
the most fascinating reading, as fresh clues to old difficulties
face one upon every page. Thus, in due time, I met with my
lady again, •< in the List of Early Chancery Proceedings, and
this time the document, moreover, proving to be in English,
her quality was much more satisfactorily defined : —
To the right reuerent fader in god the Bisshop of Bathe and Welles
Chaunceller of England
Mekely besechen your gracious lordship your humble Oratours Walter
Hungerford Squyer and Margaret his wif late the wif of John late lord
Clynton and John Brokeman Squyer and Florence his wif doughters of John
Seyntleger Squyer, that where the said John Seyntleger amonges other
thynges ordeyned by his last wille that the said Margaret and
Florence and one Alice another of his doughters and euerych of
them shuld haue to ther mariage .c. marc in money and yf it shuld happe
any of the said Margaret Florence or Alice affore the contentacion of the said
money to them seuerelly to be made, to die, that thanne they or she that
ouerlived shuld be heir to other of the said .c. marc, And ther uppon the said
John Seyntleger made one John Home nowe deed and Laurence Miller yet
lyvyng his executours willyng and chargyng them to paye to the said Margaret
Florence and Alice and to euerych of them seuerelly .c. mark in money to their
mariagez and after dide and left to the disposicion of his said executours aboue
all his dettes and other charges by them to be contented goodes and catellx to
the value of .c.li. and more, Which goodes and catelx came to the handes of
the said Laurence Miller after the deth of the said John Home his coexecutour
And howe be it that your said besechers oft tymes sythen the deth of the said
John Seyntleger and also after the deth of the said Alice, the whiche Alice
dide affore the contentacion of the said .c. marc to her made for her part,
haue requyred the saide Laurence to paye to the said Margaret and Florence
and to either of them .c. marc and also .c. marc of the part of the said Alice
accordyng to the wille afforsaid, yet that to do the said Laurence att al)
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 169
tymes hath refused and yet doeth to the great hurt of your said bescchers and
agayne all right and good conscience. Please it your gracious lordship the
premysses considered and howc your said besechers haue noo remedy by the
cours of the comen lawe of this land to graunt a writte sub pena to be direct to
the said Laurence commaundyng hym by the same to appcrc affore your said
lordship in the Chaunccrye of our souerain lord the Kyng at a certayn day
and under a certayne payne by your said lordship to be lymetted there to be
examyned and ruled vppon and in the premyssez as right and conscience shall
requyre for the loue of god and in wey of charite.
p. , , , (THOMAS HORK DE LONDON' gcntilman.
\EDWARDUS SWKRENDEN DE LONDON' gentilman.
Early Chancery Proceedings, Ed. 10, 287.
At last we have the lady, as it were, clothed with a family.
The statement of the Visitation of Gloucestershire that she was
a St. Leger is confirmed ; she has a sister Brokeman ; she is
not merely the widow of a Lord Clinton, but of John, Lord
Clinton. Also we have a new date.
There is considerable scope for ingenuity in dating these
Early Chancery Proceedings. Each ' Bill," such as the above,
is addressed to a chancellor by name, and seeing that prefixed
to the volume there is a list of chancellors, it should be neces-
sary only, having noted the chancellor required, to turn to this
table, in order to discover the date of the document, at least
within the limits of the particular chancellor's term of office.
Unfortunately however in the case of ecclesiastical chancel-
lors they succeeded one another not only in office but in their
sees, and a second table is accordingly supplied, which, with
delightful candour, points out that the documents in any given
bundle are assignable to almost any date you please. Thus,
Lady Clinton's ' Bill ' may have been addressed to John
Stafford, Bishop of Bath and Wells, and chancellor in the
years 1431-2 to 1433, or, should you prefer, to Robert
Stillington, bishop of the same see, and chancellor, with breaks,
from 20 June, 1467, to, as it would seem, 20 September,
1472. In practice some sort of exactitude is usually attainable.
The addition of the bishop's Christian name sometimes helps,
and we are seldom without some intrinsic clue. We know,
for instance, that Lady Clinton's son and heir was born in or
about 1469, and these proceedings, we may suppose, were
instituted not long before or after that event, and we conclude
that the Bill was addressed not to John Stafford but to Robert
Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells.
1 7o THE ANCESTOR
We may well rest content in most instances, if we can re-
trieve merely the record of the fact ; the explanation escapes
us. Every moment explanations are perishing, as the actors
pass. c The beautiful ' clings by way of explanation to the
sisters Gunning, but of the fortunes of the Burrells, for in-
stance, even a contemporary is at a loss to discover the spring.
Thus a plain gentleman, who died and was buried at Ulcombe
in Kent, in 1442, leaving his eldest son but twelve years old,
not over rich, presumably, for his daughters' portions a quarter
of a century later were still unpaid, is progenitor to all appear-
ance of an amazing brood.
I rely mainly on the late Mr. Wykeham Martin's History
of Leeds Castle in identifying the father of Lady Clinton, and
of Florence Brokeman, with John St. Leger of Ulcombe. I
have not verified the numerous references there given, but the
descent may, I think, be accepted as correct. Omitting details,
John St. Leger of Ulcombe, sheriff of Kent in 1431, died
1 6 May, 1442, leaving issue, by Margery, daughter and heir
of James Donet of Sileham, in Rainham, in the same county
(brass at Rainham, 1409), five sons and three or possibly four
daughters, namely (i) Ralph St. Leger, born in 1430, died
1470, leaving issue, whose achievements occupy much space in
the Dictionary of National Biography ; (2) Sir Thomas St. Leger,
who by Anne his wife, Duchess of Exeter, sister of King
Edward IV., is ancestor of the house of Manners, Dukes of
Rutland ; this is the Sir Thomas Selynger mentioned in the
escheat taken on the death of his sister, Lady Clinton ; (3)
John St. Leger ; (4) Bartholomew St. Leger, who married a
daughter of William Bourchier, Lord Fitzwarine ; and (5)
James St. Leger, who married the Earl of Ormonde's
coheir.
So much for the sons, and a very remarkable record it is.
Of the daughters, there is, first, Margaret, married (i) to
Lord Clinton, (2) to Sir Walter Hungerford, with, appended as
sole authority, a reference to the Visitation of Wilts, doubtless,
though from another MS. to the entry which I have already
quoted. In this description of Lady Clinton's marriages there
seems to be a certain amount of inaccuracy, for there is no
evidence that her husband Walter Hungerford was ever
knighted, indeed from the terms of the escheat with which we
began, it may be gathered that he was not, while her third
marriage to Sir John Hevenyngham is ignored. I may add
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 171
that in the St. Leger pedigree given by Berry, Lady Clinton
does not occur at all.
The second daughter, Florence St. Leger, is stated in Mr.
Wykeham-Martin's pedigree to have married (i) John Clifford,
(2) John Brockman, with references to the pedigrees of Lord
Clifford of Ugbrooke, and of Brockman of Beachbro', in the
Visitation of Essex. The two husbands' names are similarly
given by Berry. It appears by a pedigree of Brockman,
entered at the Visitation of Essex in 1612 (Harleian Society's
publications) that ' John Brokeman married Florence, daughter
of St. Leger, esquire,' a statement exactly reproduced by
Morant, under Witham, where the chief estate of the family
lay. He adds, with much other information relating to the
name, that there are inscriptions at Witham to John Broke-
man, who died 22 August, 1500, and to Florence Brokeman,
who died 18 March, 150x3-1 (Hist, of Essex, ii. 108, 386).
The previous match with Clifford is not mentioned here ; but
in their pedigrees of the Lords Clifford of Chudleigh, in which
parish Ugbrooke is situate, Collins and Edmondson are agreed
that John Clifford of Kent, a second son, had issue three sons
by Alice Gainsford, his first wife, and by his second wife,
Florence daughter of John St. Leger, esquire, a son Thomas
Clifford, of Borscombe, co. Wilts, and a daughter Anne,
married to Robert Kemp. I have not however attempted to
test the statement.
The third, and only other, daughter mentioned by Mr.
Wykeham Martin (omitted by Berry) is Isabel St. Leger, wife
of Sir Thomas Melbourne. We are not entitled to say that
because she is not mentioned in Lady Clinton's Bill therefore
she never existed, but I have no knowledge of her otherwise.
The fourth daughter, Alice St. Leger, we hear of only in
Lady Clinton's Bill, and according to the terms of it she was
then dead, leaving no issue, if indeed she were ever married.
With all this we have not come much nearer to establish-
ing Lady Clinton's claims, but before attacking the citadel, in
other words the Clinton pedigree itself, it is well first to study
the ground. We may now feel tolerably certain that Lady
Clinton was herself from Kent. She married, secondly, a
Wiltshireman, and she was dowered in Essex. With regard
to the first point it is, I think, possible to suggest, that there
was a certain connexion between the families of Clinton and
Hungerford, while as for Clinton, the designation ' Clinton of
172 THE ANCESTOR
Maxstoke,' which is in Warwickshire, draws attention away
from the fact that the family was becoming distinctively
Kentish. Maxstoke itself was sold in 1438, while the
portion of the Saye inheritance which accrued to them in
1404 lay largely in Kent, where they already possessed
the lordship of Folkestone and much else. Therefore, if
Margaret St. Leger married a Lord Clinton, she was marrying
in her own county, while her second marriage was, as I sup-
pose, determined by her first. It remains to account for her
settlement in Essex.
According to the escheat, a third of the manor of Stan-
stede Mountfichet was settled upon her for life, and we turn
to the History of Essex again for further information. As it
happens, Morant's account of the place leaves much to be
desired, and here, as elsewhere, it appears that a family of
advent) such as the Hungerfords, estated and resident else-
where, is somewhat outside his scheme. He informs us how-
ever of one all-important fact, that the manor of Stansted
Hall in this parish had belonged to the family of Burnel (ii.
577—8), and the subsequent Hungerford interest there is
immediately explained.
Few men have practised match-making, that most impor-
tant of arts, more successfully than Walter, first Lord Hunger-
ford. By the heiress of Peverell he had three sons. Of the
eldest the accounts seem to me unsatisfactory, for it is difficult
to believe, that with such a father, he was living unmarried as
late as 1435, when according to the notice of his father in the
Dictionary of National Biography he was in the retinue of the
Duke of Bedford. The second son Robert, who in the end
succeeded his father, was at that date a married man of some
fifteen years' standing, while the third son, Edmund Hunger-
ford, with whom we are particularly concerned, had been pro-
vided with a wife, seven years of age, or thereabouts, in 1416.
This little maid was Margery Burnell, reputed one of the
greatest heiresses in England. The king himself had inter-
vened to promote the match, which had cost Sir Walter Hun-
ferford dear, as appears by the following letters patent, which
ir Walter, to make all safe, was at the pains to procure : —
„ TT/ Rex omnibus ad quos &c. Salutem. Sciatis
pro WALTERO HUNGERFORD ,
f^, • , quod cum ut accepimus dilectus et fidelis
l-hivaler ,T. , Ti ,-,1-1
noster Walterus Hungerford chivaler per
auxilium et mediacionem literarum nostrarum cum Hugone domino de
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 173
Burncll barganizavcrit maritagium Margerie unius filiarum et hcredum Edward!
filii prefati Domini de Burnell et unius hcredum apparencium predict! Hugonis
que quidem Margaria infra etatem Edmundo filio prefati Walteri ad suos cus-
tus millc librarum iam disponsata existit. idemque Walterus periculum et
depcrditum in hac pane metuat sibi forsan evenire eo quod quedam terrar-
um et tenementorum de quibus prefatus Edwardus tempore mortis sue fuit
seisitus que predicte Margerie et duabus sororibus suis ut filiabus et heredibus
ipsius Edwardi descenderunt de nobis tenentur in capite per quod seu
ratione aliorum tenementorum que cis post mortem predictorum Hugonis et
Edwardi cxnunc descendere poterunt dicta sponsalia perturbari valeant.
Nos considerantes premissa et ad supplicacionem prefati Walteri concessi-
mus pro nobis et heredibus nostris quantum in nobis cst, quod dicta sponsalia
inter predictum Edmundum et prcfatam Margeriam sint et pro perpetuo con-
tinuentur iuxta legem ccclesiasticam absque impeticione impedimento aut
gravamine nostri vel heredum nostrorum aliquali. Et insuper prefato Waltero
concedimus ratificamus et confirmamus pro nobis et dictis heredibus nostris
maritagium et custodiam persone dicte Margerie ac custodiam dictorum
terrarum et tenementorum que sibi sic descenderunt et quicquid ad nos vel
heredes nostros pertinet seu pertincre poterit occasione custodie et maritagii
predictorum. Ita quod ipse inde habeat adeo liberam et plenam disposicionem
ac proficuum ct gubernacionem tam custodie et maritagii ejusdem Margerie
singulis temporibus quam omnium terrarum et tenementorum cum Domino
de Burnell cum maritagio illo barganizatorum et eciam que eidem Margerie
ut predictum est descenderunt sicut nos ea habere deberemus pretextu aliquo-
rum terrarum et tenementorum supradictorum in casa quo ea in manibus
nostris propriis existerent aliquo titulo qui pro nobis aut heredibus nostris in
hoc parte reperitur seu reperiri poterit aut eo quod de valore dictorum marita-
gii terrarum et tenementorum aceciam de donis et concessionibus prefato
Waltero per nos ac progenitores predecessores et antecessores nostros factis in
presentibus literis expressa non fit mencio juxta formam statutorum ante hec
tempora in hoc parte editorum non obstante, In cujus &c. Teste Rege apud
Westmonasterium. viij. die Novembris [1416].
Pat. Roll 4 Hen. Y.m. 13.
The honest word ' barganizavit ' expresses the essence of
match-making ; while as to the nature of the bargain we have
the fullest evidence.
Sir Edward Burnell, Margery's father, had died 23 Sep-
tember, the Feast of St. Tecla the Virgin, 1415, seised in fee
tail, to himself and the heirs of his body, by the gift of his
father, Hugh, Lord Burnell, of the manors and advowsons of
Thurning and Billingford, and of the manor of East Riston,
all in the county of Norfolk. There can be no doubt, I think,
that Sir Edward Burnell had been thrice married, but of the
names of his wives there does not appear to be any reliable
evidence, though the name of one is given as Alice, daughter
of the Lord Strange. By the first wife he had a daughter
Joyce, born about 1396, who at the time of his death was the
M
i74
THE ANCESTOR
wife of Thomas Erdynton, the younger ; his other two
daughters, I should suppose by a different mother, were born
ten years later, namely Katharine in 1407-8, and Margery in
1410-1, and were both unmarried when he died. His third
wife Elizabeth, who survived him, and by whom, it is ex-
pressly mentioned, he had no issue, was married to him before
1 8 June, 1415, when the manors of East and West Ham, etc.,
co. Essex, were settled on her. She remarried with Sir Thomas
Cristou and died, many years later, 3 April, 1440, seised, not
of the manors of East and West Ham, for everything in the
odd story we have embarked on got changed into something
else, but of the manor of Holond, another Burnell fee in the
same county, which she held for the term of her life by the
demise of Philip Morgan, Bishop of Ely, formerly of Wor-
cester, and others, with reversion to James, Earl of Ormonde,
and others ; the said earl having married Elizabeth Beauchamp,
daughter of Joan, Lady Bergavenny, of whom, and her inter-
meddling in the Burnell inheritance, we shall presently hear
more.
The eagerness of Sir Walter Hungerford to secure the
child Margery for his son was not excited by a mere matter of
a third share of three manors in Norfolk, the sum total of Sir
Edward Burnell's possessions. So long as Sir Edward lived
there had always been the possibility of a male heir to the
great Burnell estates ; once he was dead his daughters became
inevitably their grandfather's inheritors.
The remaining years of Hugh, Lord Burnell's, life were
busy with settlements. A greater man than Sir Walter Hun-
gerford, and a more fortunate one, intervened. The backbone
of the Burnell estates was in Shropshire and Staffordshire.
For these lands John Talbot de Fur nival, afterwards first Earl
of Shrewsbury, was suitor, on behalf of his son John. The
bargain was struck, and by charter dated at Burnell, 22 June,
1416, a long list of manors was settled on Hugh, Lord Bur-
nell, knight, Lord of Weolegh, for his life, with remainder to
John Talbot, knight, Lord de Fournyvale, John Talbot, his
son, and Katharine, one of the daughters and heirs of Edward
Burnell, knight, and the heirs of the bodies of the said John
and Katharine, with remainder, in default, after the death of
the said John, Lord Furnival, to the right heirs of Hugh.
Still there was plenty left for Sir Walter. Hugh, Lord Bur-
nell, proceeded to give manors in eight counties to Robert
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 175
Rikedon of Witham, Robert Darcy of Maldon, and others,
who by their writing, dated, in respect to certain of the manors
in Essex, 12 July, 1416, that is to say shortly after the con-
clusion of the separate arrangement with Lord Furnival, gave
all these lands to Hugh for life, with remainder to Walter
Hungerford, knight, Edmund Hungerford, Walter's son, and
Margery, daughter and one of the heirs of Edward Burnell,
knight, and the heirs of the bodies of the said Edmund and
Margery, with remainder in default, after the death of Walter,
Edmund and Margery, to the right heirs of Hugh. The
estate thus secured to the Hungerfords consisted of, in Surrey,
the manor of Rotherhithe (worth 10 marks) and the manor of
Hatcham (worth 10 marks) ; in Oxfordshire, the manor of
Rollright (worth 10 marks) ; in Gloucestershire, the manor
and advowson of Little Rissington (worth 10 marks) ; in
Bristol, four messuages, six shops, three cellars and £13 is. 6d.
rent ; in Somerset, the manor of Compton Dando (worth 6
marks) ; in Wiltshire, the manor and advowson of Great
Cheverell (worth 6 marks) and a fee farm rent of 30 marks
from Biddestone ; in Worcestershire, the manor of Suckley
(worth 20 marks) ; and in Essex, the manor of Stanstede
Montfichet, of which we have heard already as in dower to
Lady Clinton, the manor of Waltham Powers, the manor of
Walkfare, and the manor of Latchingdon, to which were added
the manors of East and West Ham and Borham, subject to
the life estate of Elizabeth, Edward Burnell's widow. I think
that very possibly the Norfolk manors, of which Sir Edward
Burnell had died seised, were also included in the bargain, for
it was found on the death of John, Duke of Bedford, in 1436,
that two fees were held of the duke in Thirning, one of these
Norfolk manors, by Edmund Hungerford, knight.
Hugh, Lord Burnell, was an old man when he made the
settlement. Sir Walter Hungerford had not long to wait.
On 27 November, 1420, Lord Burnell died, and it was duly
found that Joyce, wife of Thomas Erdyngton, the younger,
aged twenty-four and more ; Katharine Burnell, aged fourteen
and more ; and Margery, the wife of Edmund Hungerford,
aged eleven and more, were his cousins and heirs, namely the
daughters of Sir Edward Burnell, his son. The marriage
arranged between Katharine Burnell and John Talbot, the
younger, you will notice, had not yet taken effect.
Sir Walter Hungerford thereupon, we may suppose,
176 THE ANCESTOR
entered on possession. He is returned for instance, in 1428,
as holding half a knight's fee in Latchingdon. Possibly as
representing part of the .£1,000 which he states the marriage
to have cost him, or perhaps over and above that sum, he had
settled the manors of Down Ampney, co. Gloucester, and the
manors of Stoke by Bedwin, etc., co. Wilts, on the young
couple. On I May, 1423, he had licence to settle the manor
and hundred of Chippenham, etc., which he was purchasing of
Hales and Bessyl, on himself and others, with remainder to
the heirs male of his son Edmund, with remainder in default
to his own heirs. Oddly enough, this settlement was never
effected ; and on 16 November, 1424, he surrendered the
former letters patent, and obtained leave to settle this fine
estate on himself and his heirs, with no mention at all of
Edmund. The alteration was typical of the altered prospects,
in other respects, of Edmund Hungerford, and of the future
house of Down Ampney descended from him ; it was also, in
all probability, the direct consequence of a fact that had
emerged. Sir Walter Hungerford was no longer under any
obligation to balance his daughter-in-law's dowry by a grand
settlement on his own side, and caution, or luck, had served
Lord Furnival well, when he deferred the marriage between
his son and Katharine Burnell the other coheir. The awkward
fact, discovered in Sir Walter's case too late, was, that all Lord
Burnell's settlements were null and void. He possessed, so
far as I am aware, not a single acre of which he was free to
dispose.
Here we trench on a question of law, and it is well to
walk warily, but the case can be stated simply enough. The
moral question, which remains I am afraid insoluble, is even
more interesting. Did Lord Burnell know ? I am convinced
that he did ; if he was by any possibility unaware of the nature
of his tenure of the Burnell estates, he could have been under
no misapprehension as to his exact title to the inheritance of
his deceased wife ; but with part of this he attempted to deal
no less fraudulently. He had been three times married. His
first wife, the mother of his child, or children, is stated to
have been Philippe de la Pole, daughter of the second Earl of
Suffolk. She was dead, and he had remarried, before June,
1386, when, with Joice, Lady Botetourt, his second wife, he
joined in a settlement of the Botetourt estates. A fine was
levied between Roger Caumpden, clerk, John Hyde and Ed-
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 177
ward Acton, querents, and Hugh and Joice, deforciants, of the
manors of Bordesley, co. Warwick, Honesworth, Meere and
Clent, co. Stafford, Lynford and Newport Pagnell, co. Bucks,
and the castle of Weoley and the manors of Northfield, Grade-
ley and Oldeswyneford, co. Worcester, to the said Hugh and
Joice, in tail, with remainder in default to her heirs ; with a
special provision touching the manors of Little Lynford and
Newport Pagnell, which Sir Thomas Harcourt and Maud his
wife then held for Maud's life, with reversion expectant to the
said Joice, that if Hugh survived her, and was disturbed by
her heirs in his quiet enjoyment of the castle of Weoley, etc.,
the said two Buckinghamshire manors should remain to bis
heirs.
So matters continued for some thirty years. Joice died on
New Year's Day, 1406—7. Hugh thereupon married his third
wife, Joan Devereux, the widow of Walter, Lord Fitz Walter,
who had died 16 May, 1406. She had the king's licence,
29 January, 1407—8, to marry whom she pleased, and a writ
was directed to the escheator of Lincolnshire to assign dower
to Hugh Burnell who married the said Joan, and to the said
Joan, from her late husband's lands. The order to assign
dower to Hugh and Joan was renewed 29 January, 1408—9,
but she died shortly afterwards, on Friday before the Feast
of the Ascension, that is to say, 10 May, 1409. I should
like to suppose that by this third wife he had a daughter
Mary. I have met with a lady described as his daughter,
who, by the dates of her career, could not well have been
his child by his first wife, but I do not find that he en-
joyed any portion of the Devereux estates by the curtesy,
as, in this case, he would have done. In 1415 he lost his
only son, Sir Edward Burnell, and 1416, as we have already
seen, he settled the bulk of his estates on that son's daughters,
to the exclusion however of the eldest, the wife of Thomas
Erdynton, the younger ; she is mentioned as one of his co-
heirs, but nowhere else is she alluded to in the series of in-
quisitions taken upon his death. The reason of this exclusion,
I would suggest, was that she was already married, and was
accordingly, not marketable. There was no money to be made
in a bargain for her hand, and money, apparently, Hugh Lord
Burnell wanted, and wanted for a purpose as strange as every-
thing else in this affair.
He was born in 1347, and was now close on seventy years
178 THE ANCESTOR
of age. There was also a great lady, Joan, daughter and co-
heir of the Earl of Arundel, the widow of William Beauchamp,
Lord Bergavenny (he had died 8 May, 1411), born in 1375,
and therefore at this time aged about forty. Whether they
proposed to marry one another, or what the bond between them
was, I have failed to find out ; but to benefit her was, it seems,
the main preoccupation of the last years of his life. By his
will, which I have not seen, he gave her everything, so it is
stated ; while in her own will, made fifteen years after his
death, she endows the Friars Preachers of Hereford ' perpetu-
ally to sing for my lord my husband, my lord my father, my
lady my mother, and me, and Sir Hugh Burnel, knight, and
all my good doers, and all Christian souls,' and again directs
that five priests shall ' sing for me for twenty winters, for my
lord my father, my lady my mother, my husband, my son
Richard, earl of Worcester, Sir Hugh Burnell, knight, and all
my good doers, and all Christian souls.'
Such charity at her hands Lord Burnell had well earned.
By fine in October, 1417, he gave to 'Joan, late the wife of
William de Beauchamp of Bergavenny, Philip Morgon, now
(1420) bishop of Worcester,' and others, the manors of Swave-
sey and Fulborn, co. Cambridge, the manor of Picheford, co.
Salop, the manor of Assheby la Zouche, co. Leicester, and the
manor of Haselbeche, co. Northampton, all of his own inheri-
tance ; by fines in October, 1417, and 3 November, 1419,
she bought the reversions of two-thirds, from the heirs of
Joyce, Lady Burnell, of the castle of Weoley, the manor of
Northfield, Cradeley and Oldeswynford, co. Worcester, in
which, as we have seen, he had a life estate, and he released
his right to her ; and finally he made over to her, and her
feoffees, another portion of his late wife's inheritance, of
which she had not purchased the reversion, namely, those
manors of Little Lynford and Newport Pagnell, which in a
certain event, that had evidently not occurred, were limited,
lawfully or unlawfully, to descend to his heirs to the exclusion
of Joyce's. In this last case one is pleased to know that the
attempted iniquity missed its mark. Charters Nos. 384 and
721 in Madox' Formulare show Adam de Peshale and Joice
his wife, who were among the true heirs of the Botetourt
inheritance, selling a moiety of the manors of Lynford and
Newport Pagnell.
1 think we may take it, then, that Hugh, Lord Burnell,
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 179
had an infatuation for Lady Bergavenny, and that he was a
man capable of endeavouring to dispose of other people's in-
heritances. The particular trap which he set for Lord Fur-
nival and Sir Walter Hungerford, and into which Sir Walter
walked, is easily explained.
What Hugh, Lord Burnell, represented in the world was
the Burnell estates. He was personally distinguished, a
Knight of the Garter, like most of the other actors, or their
husbands, as it happens, for we are moving in the best society ;
but it was the Burnell estates which made a great man of him.
Originally, it is stated, accumulated by Bishop Burnell of Bath
and Wells, they descended to Philip Burnell, the bishop's
nephew, who left issue a son Edward and a daughter Maud.
Edward died in 1315, without issue, and Maud became
possessed of this immense inheritance in fee. She was then
aged twenty-four or five, and a widow, with one little boy, sole
heir to his father John, Lord Lovell. She took for her second
husband John de Haudlo, by whom she had a son, Nicholas de
Haudlo, afterwards known as Nicholas Burnell, to whom
she gave the greater part of her inheritance, to the ex-
clusion of the son of her first marriage, John Lovell. This
Nicholas Burnell, her son, who had summons to Parliament
from 1350 on, died 19 January, 1382—3, seised, according to
the inquisitions taken after his death, of all the Burnell estates
in his demesne as of fee, leaving Hugh, his son and heir, a
knight, then aged thirty-six and more. Thus, you will see,
if Sir Walter Hungerford had employed a friend in the Chan-
cery to look this inquisition up, so as to be on the safe side, he
would have found all quite regular. Hugh, Lord Burnell,
inherited an estate in fee simple, and was free to dispose. But
supposing Sir Walter had taken his inquiries a little further
back, he would have learned more. Obviously we cannot in-
vestigate the tide of all these lands, but we can trace the history
of one holding, and what is true of that one is, as a matter of
fact, true of them all. One of the manors which Hugh, Lord
Burnell, assigned to Sir Walter Hungerford was Compton
Dando in Somerset, and the whole history is told in four fines
by which the manor was passed. In 1311 a fine was levied of
it (with lands in Norfolk and Salop) to Edward Burnell and
Alyna, his wife, and Edward's heirs. Edward died, as we
have said, without issue. Alyna survived till 1363, and
accordingly in the fines which follow it is the reversion of the
i8o THE ANCESTOR
manor, expectant on her decease, that is dealt with. In 1324
a fine was levied of the reversion by John de Haudlo, and
Maud his wife, sister and heir of Edward, to Robert de
Haudlo, clerk. In 1325 a fine was levied of the reversion
(with lands in Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire,
Kent and Norfolk) by Robert de Haudlo, clerk, to John de
Haudlo and Maud his wife, and the heirs male of their bodies,
with remainder in default to the right heirs of Maud. In 1340
a fine was levied of the reversion (with lands in Norfolk,
Gloucestershire and Warwickshire) by John de Haudlo to
Geoffrey de Scardebergh, parson of Onebury, and Thomas
Asselot, parson of Wolstanton, who gave the reversion, etc.,
back to John de Haudlo, with remainder to Nicholas, John's
son, and the heirs of Nicholas for ever.
Always supposing'that there was an estate vested in Sir John
de Haudlo, enabling him to levy a fine of the land at all, which
appears doubtful, the effect of the fine of 1340 would be two-
fold : (i) in the event of failure of issue of Maud Burnell by
her first husband, John Lovell, to carry the land to the heir
general, as opposed to the heir male, of her son, Nicholas
Burnell ; (2) in the event, which occurred (viz. of failure of
male issue to Nicholas, the issue of Maud and John Lovell
persisting), to carry the land to Nicholas' heir general, if no
claim to it was advanced within due time by the heir, or heirs, of
Maud and John Lovell, that is to say within a year and a day,
the fine having been levied prior to the Statute of 34 Edward
III. cap. 13, which took away 'all such puissance' in a fine.
It is part of the irony of the situation that had Nicholas
male issue persisted another fifty years, the decision in what we
must now call Talcarne's case would have supplied the remedy ;
and we should probably not be far out in ascribing to the
scandal excited by this, the Burnell case, an increased deter-
mination in men's minds to arrive at some such solution of the
difficulty.
What we may be quite certain of is, that the Lovell claim
was advanced immediately on the death of Hugh, Lord Bur-
nell, and that it proved good. An examination of the later
Lovell inquisitions post mortem shows that family in posses-
sion of the whole of the Shropshire estates of the Burnells, and
of the manors of Rotherhithe, co. Surrey, of Little Rissington
co. Gloucester, and of Boreham Magna, Waltham Parva, alia
Powers, and Walkfar, which latter had, as we have seen, all
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 181
been settled by Lord Hugh on his granddaughter Margery
Hungerford. At the same time there are suggestions of a
compromise. It certainly appears by the institutions to the
living of Great Cheverell in Wiltshire, that this manor was
allotted to Hungerford, and similarly it is stated, though not
precisely, in Habingtons Survey, that Suckley in Worcester-
shire was in the possession of Hungerfords at a later date,
both of which manors were included in Lord Hugh's settle-
ment. They do not appear however, so far as I can find, in
the extant inquisitions taken on the deaths of Sir Edmund
Hungerford and Margery his wife. It appears from these
returns that he died either 26 March, which is probably
correct, or 26 May, 1484, and that she died either 20
April, which is probably correct, or 27 March, 1486. It
was further found by the jurors that Walter Hungerford,
knight, Lord of Heytesbury and Hornet, being seised in fee
of the manors of Berton [and] Jenkynscourte, and six virgates
of land in Stratton St. Margaret, and of the manor of Stoke by
Bedwin, co. Wilts, gave them to the said Edmund and the
heirs male of his body ; and that being seised of the manor
of Down Ampney and of a toft and two carucates of land in
Wyke by Hampton Meysy, co. Gloucester, in fee, he gave
them to the said Edmund and Margery his wife, to them and
the heirs male of Edmund. This probably represents the full
settlement made by Walter, Lord Hungerford, on his younger
son. What remains represents, always excluding Great
Cheverell, Suckley and Compton Dando, which are not defin-
itely traced, the fraction of the Burnell inheritance which
accrued to Margery. The terms of the findings are remark-
able. They state that William, Lord Lovell, Burnell and
Holland, being seised of the manors of Estham Burnell,
Westham Burnell, Hellehous and Stansted Mountfichet, in fee,
gave them to the said Edmund Hungerford, knight, and
Margery his wife, to them and the heirs of the said Edmund
and Margery issuing, that they were seised thereof accordingly
in fee tail, that Edmund died so seised, that Margery sur-
vived, and is still living so seised ; the manors are worth £40
and are held of Francis, Lord Lovell, William's cousin and
heir. Again, on Margery's death, it is found that William,
Lord Lovell, as before, gave the manors of Estham, Westham,
and Hilhowse, etc. — the manor of Stansted Mountfichet being
in this return omitted, I presume because it had, in the inter-
1 82 THE ANCESTOR
val, been settled on Walter Hungerford and Lady Clinton.
The last of these inquisitions informs us that William, Lord
Lovell, as before, gave the manor of Rowlright, co. Oxford, to
Edmund and Margery and the heirs of their bodies, to hold of
him and his heirs by fealty only.
It is thus abundantly clear that in the compromise finally
arrived at — and the settlement of the dispute was evidently
deferred, for William only inherited in 1414, and was then
four years under age — the Lovell title to the manors in dispute
was unreservedly recognized. That this was the case is put in,
if possible, a clearer light by the settlement of the claims of
Katharine Burnell, Margery's sister. We have seen that she
was promised to Lord Furnival's son, and that the match was
broken off. It is pleasant to know that she found a husband,
and that some provision was made for her. She married, some
time before 1430, when her son was born, a middle-aged
widower of distinction, Sir John Radcliff, seneschal of Aqui-
taine, late constable of Bordeaux, Knight of the Garter in 1429.
His first wife, Cecily Harlyng, widow, born Mortimer, was
co-heiress to her father. She inherited the manor of Attle-
borough, co. Norfolk, and the manors of Newnham, then and
now part of the borough of Cambridge, and Foxton, co. Cam-
bridge. The two latter manors he enjoyed for his life, by the
grant of Thomas, Bishop of Durham, James de Strangways,
and William Alyngton, the feoffees, with reversion to Sir Robert
Harlyng, his stepson, and on his death they actually reverted
to Anne Chamberleyn, Sir Robert's daughter and heir, even-
tually passing to the descendants of Sir Robert's sister, Anne's
aunt. The manor of Attleborough, on the other hand, he
diverted from his wife's heirs to his own, for by their charter
indented, dated 24 May, 1431, the Bishop of Durham and his
co-feoffees granted it to him by the name of Mortymers manor
of Attilburgh, to hold to him and the heirs of his body, to
whom it duly descended accordingly, thereby occasioning some
trouble when the Radcliff pedigree was compiled.
Having in this way become a considerable landowner, in
addition to his personal distinction, Sir John Radcliff married
Katharine Burnell. Possibly it was a speculative match ; at any
rate it was not till ten years later that Katharine's share in
the Burnell estates was secured to her. Then by his charters,
dated 8 December, 1439, and 12 July, 1440, William, Lord
Lovell, Burnell and de Holand, granted to Sir John Radcliff
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 183
and Katharine his wife, and the heirs of their bodies (i) the
manors of Southmer and Docking, and (2) the manors of
Riston, Thurning and Billingford, all in the county of Nor-
folk, of which the said William was seised in fee. As though
to accentuate his title, Lord Lovell gives Docking, which I
believe was part of the ancient inheritance of Lovell, and
formed no part of the Burnell inheritance ; while again his
title to Thurning, etc., is fully confessed, and the recognition
in this case is particularly interesting, for it was at Thurning
that Edward, Lord Burnell, died in 1 3 1 5, it was Thurning, etc.,
that Hugh, Lord Burnell, had given to Sir Edward Burnell,
Katharine's father, and it was presumably at Thurning that
Katharine herself was born and bred.
We have thus ascertained how it came about that Walter
Hungerford, esquire, the husband of Lady Clinton, was con-
nected with Essex, and how the manor of Stanstede Mount-
fichet in particular, or rather a third of it, came to be settled
on her for life, with remainder to Walter's son, who was also
hers. For Walter Hungerford, esquire, was the second son
of Sir Edmund Hungerford and Margery Burnel his wife.
Lady Clinton's third venture was with Sir John Hevening-
ham, who, like herself, had been twice previously married.
His first wife is stated to have been Alice, daughter of Sir
John Savile, by whom he had a son John, who succeeded him,
being fifty years old or more at his father's death. He
married secondly a considerable heiress, Alice Bruyn, co-heir
with her sister Lady Brandon, of Sir Henry Bruyn. By her
he had a son George. He married thirdly Lady Clinton, and
himself died 20 March, 1498-9, having survived Lady Clinton
a month over three years.
This completes the first stage of the enquiry ; and we may
proceed, feeling tolerably certain as to the parentage of our
lady, and as to the identity of two at any rate of her husbands,
to place her, if possible, in the Clinton pedigree. The princi-
pal fact we have to go by is the birth of her son Nicholas
Hungerford, who was found to be twenty-seven years old in
1495-6, who was born, that is to say, about 1469. It follows
that the John, Lord Clinton, whom we know by the Chancery
proceedings to have been her previous husband, must have
died at some convenient date prior to that event. Our require-
ments are met by John, usually reckoned as fifth, but more
correctly, it would seem, as fourth Lord Clinton of Maxstoke,
1 84 THE ANCESTOR
who is stated to have died 24 September, 1464, being then
aged about fifty-four. Our satisfaction however is diminished
when we find that this Lord Clinton had married a totally
different lady, who moreover survived him. Before looking
elsewhere, or before deciding on a separation and a scandal, it
may be as well to apply the usual simple tests, which for such
inquiries as we are engaged upon consist merely in verifying
the references given by the great Dugdale, fixing the dates
with the assistance of the late Mr. Bond's invaluable Hand-
book, and doing sums in simple arithmetic.
The wife, then, assigned to John, Lord Clinton, is
Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Fienes, Lord Dacre of the
South, and she is stated to have been living as his widow on
3 December, 1485. I presume that this date refers to the will
of the suojure Lady Dacre, widow of Richard, Lord Dacre, a
brief abstract of which is printed in Testamenta Vetusta^
dated 13 October, 1485, and proved 14 June, 1485. By this
will Lady Dacre gives 'to Elizabeth, Lady Clinton, and
Thomas Fynes, my son and daughter, all my chattels.' This
seems conclusive, and we have only to add that the marriage
proved fruitful, her son and heir by John, Lord Clinton,
another John, being aged thirty at his father's death in 1464.
That is to say, Lady Dacre's grandson was born in 1434 or
thereabouts. Lady Dacre herself was born in 1433, and thus
became a grandmother in the following year, which even in
the fifteenth century was not possible.
Trouble, genealogically, I have noticed usually follows
when John to John succeeds ; and the Clinton pedigree for
two and half centuries consists of six Johns and two Williams.
That a solution of the difficulty is to be found in this direction
is moreover suggested by the kinship existing between the
families of Clinton and Fienes : —
Geoffrey de Say
T
John de Clinton = Idonea Joan = William Fienes
H r1
William William
William Roger
John, died 1464 Richard, Lord Dacre
John de Clinton = Elizabeth Fienes
A
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 185
That is to say, Elizabeth, Lady Dacre's daughter, did indeed
marry a Lord Clinton, not however the John, Lord Clinton,
who died in 1464, but his son.
The inconvenience is obvious ; for we are obliged to
tamper with another generation of the Clinton pedigree.
John the younger is already, in the peerages, provided with a
wife, namely Anne, daughter of Sir Humphrey Stafford. The
little I know about him is soon stated. He succeeded his
father, as mentioned above in 1464, being then aged thirty or
more, and it appears accordingly that he was born about 1434,
when his father was about twenty-four years old. He had a
general pardon, 9 August, 1471,35 'John Clynton, of the
town or Calais, lord de Clynton and Say, alias lord de
Clynton, of Folkeston, co. Kent.' A commission was directed
to inquire, 31 January, 1483-4, whether the servants of John,
Lord Clinton, had seized a ship of Hamburg, near Dover, and
taken her into Winchelsea, as though he practised piracy
from Folkestone. His wife, Elizabeth Fienes, was living 13
October, 1485, when she is a legatee, as mentioned above, in
her mother's will. She must have been a young bride, for her
mother Lady Dacre was born in 1433, and her son by Lord
Clinton was born, as we shall shortly see, in 1471. On 6
November, 1484, he demised his manors and lands in
Warwickshire and Staffordshire to one William Leycroft for
the term of seven years, and by deed dated 6 February,
1487-8, gave all his said manors in Warwickshire to the Earl
of Arundel, and others ' to the use of his wife the Lady Anne
Clynton ' for her life. About three weeks later, on 29
February, 1487-8, he died, leaving a son John Clinton, aged
seventeen and more, his son and heir. The settlement on the
wife Anne suggests that they had been recently married, and I
have very little doubt that his first wife Elizabeth Fienes died
shortly after the date of her mother's will, and that he re-
married with Anne. Whether this Anne was a daughter of Sir
Humphrey Stafford, I cannot tell ; but it is clear that she was
not the mother of his children. From all this it plainly
appears that John, Lord Clinton, who died in 1464, did not
marry Elizabeth Dacre ; that he had issue, born when he was
a young man by some wife whose name we do not know ; and
we may feel pretty confident that he married secondly a lady
named Margaret St. Leger, whose subsequent matrimonial
career we have already traced.
1 86 THE ANCESTOR
THE CLINTON PEDIGREE
In spite of the alterations suggested elsewhere in the pedigree
of the Lords Clinton, the main facts of their descent are set out
with a fair approach to accuracy in the received accounts of the
family ; nor is this surprising when it is considered that both
as connected with the county of Warwick, and as receiving
summons to parliament, they came under the notice of Sir
William Dugdale. Always prompted by a desire to do
justice to Lady Clinton, I have tried to satisfy myself as to the
facts, and while there is nothing very new in the result, there
are a few points to which it may be interesting to call attention.
I propose, as briefly as possible, to test the dates, and to state
the evidence for the marriages of a limited number of the
male heirs of the race. The first two generations I take from
the pedigree in Dugdale's Warwickshire, the remainder from
that indispensable synopsis the Complete Peerage.
The early possessions of this branch of the Clinton family
consisted of Coleshill, Amington and Maxstoke, co. Warwick,
and of Lydiard Millicent, co. Wilts. How Lydiard was
acquired by them I do not at present know, but it was held
under the Earls of Warwick.
Coleshill was given to Osbert de Clinton (I.), who obtained
Amington by his marriage with Margaret, daughter of William,
of Hatton, and granddaughter of Hugh, son of Richard, the
founder of Wroxale Priory. That the Clintons descended
from her, we know by an order touching the priory, entered on
the Close Roll, dated 1 3 November, 1325, which recites that
the king learned by inquisition that it was founded by Hugh,
son of Richard, and is now of the patronage of John de
Clinton of Maxstoke, kinsman and heir of Hugh. By
Margaret, who was twice married, it is stated, after his death,
Osbert de Clinton (I.) had issue : —
Osbert de Clinton (II.), who in Michaelmas term, 2 John
(1200), granted to Margaret de Clinton a third part of the
wood of Coleshill as her dower. He married a wife Elysant,
who survived him, presumably the mother of his son and
heir : —
Thomas de Clinton (HI-). He succeeded his father in
1222, and there are two consecutive entries, of 26 and 27
November, on the Close Roll in that year, which relate to him.
The first is an order to the sheriff" of Warwick to put William
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 187
Briwer in seisin of a knight's fee in Coleshill, which Osbert
de Clintun held of him, ' non obstante eo quod filius et beres
ipsius Osberti miles factus est ut dicitur* The case was
governed by the clause of ' Magna Carta,' commented on by
Selden (titles of Honour, ed. 1672, p. 653), ' Si h<eres infra
tetatem fiat miles, nicbilominus terra remaneat in custodia
dominorum suorum usque ad <etatem xxi annorum,' but at what
age, or rather at how early an age knighthood could be taken
up I do not know, and in this instance should particularly
like to know. If he was then sixteen, and it seems hazardous
to suggest that he was less, we get 1206 for the year of his
birth. He survived till 1278, if I have correctly read the
evidences which follow, thus approving himself in every way
the vigorous progenitor of a race with male representatives at
the present time, after a continued and conscious existence of
close upon seven centuries from his first appearance in the
world.
The second entry, of 27 November, on the Close Roll of
1222, is an order to the Treasurer to deliver 100 marks to
William Briwer, for which William de Cantilupe is to answer,
inasmuch as Briwer had sold him for that sum the wardship
of the land and heir of Osbert de Clinton. This was not a
transaction pro hac vice, so to speak, but an out and out sale.
The over-lordship of Coleshill and its possessors was thereby
permanently transferred, as we shall see by repeated instances,
to Cantilupe and his heirs the Zouches.
Whatever the exact date of his birth, in 1233 Thomas de
Clinton was of full age. By the fine of this date, which follows,
he assigns land in Coleshill, formerly held by Margery, his
grandmother, then deceased, to his father's widow ; that is to
say, to his own mother, presumably, in dower : —
...... Hec est finalis concordia facta in curia domini regis
•' apud Westmonasterium a die Pasche in quinque septi-
manas anno regni regis Henrici filii regis Johannis septi-
modecimo coram Thoma de Muleton. Roberto de Lexinton. Willelmo
de Eboraco et Radulfo de Norwico justiciariis et aliis domini regis fidelibus tune
ibi presentibus Inter Elysaunt que fuit uxor Osberti de Clinton petentem et
Thomam de Clinton tenentem de tercia parte tercie partis feodi unius militis
cum pertinenciis in Coleshull et Halgton. scilicet de tota terra cum pertinen-
ciis quam Margeria de Clinton aliquando tenuit in dote in eisdem villis de dono
Osberti de Clinton quondam viri sui et de una virgata terra quam Alanus pre-
positus tenuit in Coleshull. Quam terciam partem eadem Elysaunt clamabat
esse de racionabili dote sua que earn contingit de libero tenemento quod fuit
1 88 THE ANCESTOR
predict! Osberti quondam viri sui in eisdem villis. Et unde placitum fuit inter
eos in eadem curia. Scilicet quod predictus Thomas concessit predicte Ely-
saunt totam terram cum pertinenciis in Coleshull et Halghton quam predicta
Margeria tenuit in dotem et predictam virgatam terre cum pertinenciis quam
predictus Alanus tenuit. Habendum et tenendum eidem Elysaunt tola vita
sua nomine dotis faciendo inde forinsecum servicium quantum ad predictas
terras pertinet. Et pro hac concessione fine et concordia eadem Elysaunt con-
cessit reddidit et quietam clamavit de se predicto Thome et heredibus suis totam
terram cum pertinenciis quam ipsa prius tenuit in dote in Coleshull de dono
predicti Osberti quondam viri sui et remisit et quietum clamavit de se predicto
Thome et heredibus suis totum jus et clamium quod habuit in superplusagio
omnium terrarum que fuerunt predicti Osberti quodam viri sui nomine dotis.
Warwic'. Feet of Fines, Warwick, file 1 8, No. 2.
There is no doubt at all that Thomas de Clinton married
a lady with the unusual name of Mazera, an heiress, and that
she was the mother of his children. Her father, whose name
as connected with one of the Clinton quarterings, is usually
given as ' Bisege,' occurs thrice in the printed Testa de Nevill
as James de Bysecht, Biseck, or Bisethe. He was living 6
May, 1236, when he was assessed to the aid for marrying the
king's sister, for a fee, held of Roger de Mowbray, in
' Halestorp,' or in ' Olestorp, Bidmeswell and Wanton,' co.
Leicester. ' Halestorp ' and ' Olestorp,' I suppose to be the
same place — possibly one of the readings leaves something
to be desired — now called Ullesthorpe, not Woolsthorpe, as
elsewhere identified, a hamlet in the parish of Claybrooke
near Lutterworth in the county of Leicester. This property,
with, in all likelihood, other land — for instance, Baddisley,
subsequently known as Baddisley Clinton, co. Warwick, is
stated to be derived from this match — descended from James
de Biseck to Mazera his daughter, and it is her and her
husband's dealings with the place which enable us, in part,
to reconstruct a curious and entertaining history.
Thomas and Mazera appear to have had issue five sons,
Thomas, John, Osbert, William and James. Now there
would have been nothing unusual, according to the practice of
that or any other time, if one of these sons other than the
eldest had been made heir to the maternal estate. That this,
indeed, was intended will appear, I think, by the sequel ;
but it was by no means the limit of the provision they
desired to make for their younger children. They decided
upon nothing less than a partition of their estates, to be
effected in their own lifetime. William, the fourth son, was
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 189
it seems in holy orders, and does not concern us; while
James, apparently, got Baddisley, but this point I have not
tried to determine. There remain Thomas, John and Osbert.
Omitting Ullesthorpe for the present, the chief holdings to
be disposed of were at Amington and Coleshill, co. Warwick,
and at Lydiard, co. Wilts. Of these, Coleshill went to John,
with remainder to Osbert, by a fine levied when his father
was, if our dates are correct, in his fifty-fifth year : —
„ _. Hec est firulis concordia facta in curia domini
29 oept.-!2 Uct., re^s apud Westmonasterium a die sancti Michaelis
in quindecim dies anno regni regis Hcnrici filii regis
Johannis quadragesimo quarto coram Gilberto de Preston Johanne de Wyvill
et Johanne de Kava justiciariis et aliis domini regis fidelibus tune ibi presentibus
inter Johannem de Clinton querentem et Thomam de Clinton impedientem de
mancrio de Coleshull cum pertinenciis. unde placitum warantie carte summoni-
tum fuit inter cos in eadem curia. Scilicet quod predictus Thomas recognovit
predictum manerium cum pertinenciis una cum advocacione ecclesie ejusdem
manerii esse jus ipsius Johannis ut ilia que idem Johannes habet de dono predict!
Thome. Et pro hac recognitione fine et concordia idem Johannes concessit
predicto Thome predictum manerium et advocacionem ecclesie predicte cum
pertinenciis. Habendum et tenendum eidem Thome de predicto Johanne et
heredibus de corpore ipsius Johannis procreatis tota vita ipsius Thome. Rcd-
dendo inde per annum quinquaginta solidos ad duos termino*. Scilicet medie-
tatem ad festum beatc Marie in Martio et alteram medietatem ad festum sancti
Michaelis pro omni servicio consuetudine et exaccione. Et post decessum
ipsius Thome predictum manerium et advocacio predicte ecclesie cum pertinen-
ciis integre revertentur ad predictum Johannem et heredes suos predictos.
Tenendum de heredibus ipsius Thome inperpetuum. Reddendo inde per annum
unum denarium ad Natale Domini, et faciendo inde servicium domini regis quod
ad predictum manerium pertinet pro omni servicio consuetudine et exaccione.
Et si ita contingat quo predictus Johannes obierit sine herede de corpore suo
procreate, tune predictum manerium et advocacio predicte ecclesie cum perti-
nenciis integre remaneant Oseberto fratri ipsius Johannis et heredibus suis.
Tenendum de predictis heredibus ipsius Thome per predicta servicia inper-
petuum. Et predicti heredes ipsius Thome warantizabunt acquietabunt et
defendent eidem Johanni et heredibus de corpore suo procreatis vel predicto
Oseberto et heredibus suis si predictus Johannes obierit sine herede de se pre-
dictum manerium et advocacionem predicte ecclesie cum pertinenciis per pre-
dicta servicia contra omnes homines imperpetuum. Warr.
feet of Fines, Warwick, file 25, No. 14.
A search through the feet of fines for Warwickshire and
Wiltshire would in all probability show that this settlement
was balanced by another in favour of Thomas the eldest son,
and that, whereas in the case of Coleshill, Thomas the father
retained a life estate, in the case of Amington and Lydiard he
put Thomas his son in immediate possession. That this was
N
190 THE ANCESTOR
actually done, whether by fine or otherwise, in the case of
Lydiard, will shortly appear. With regard to Amington the
evidence is more delicate. It is as follows. Thomas the son
married, according to Sir William Dugdale, who derived his
information from that baffling source ex autogr. penes some-
body or other, ' Maud, daughter of Sir Ralph Bracebridge.'
Doubtless the proof, I mean record evidence, exists somewhere
for the match. It is not lack of material we have to complain
of in these inquiries ; the skill to find and the wits to under-
stand are more often at fault. As a matter of fact, whether
she was born Bracebridge I have failed to find out, but in the
printed Hundred Rolls, under date 4 Edward I. (1275-6), when
Thomas the younger was certainly dead, and Thomas the elder
was almost as certainly yet alive, the jury for the hundred of
Humbelford present that : —
Matillis de Clinton [tenet] Aminton et solum dat auxilium vicecomiti et
warth solebant esse geldabiles in omnibus cum comitatu et modo subtrahuntur
nescitur quo warranto.
I am happily not called upon to construe or interpret the
passage, which I only hope I may have correctly ' extended ' ;
but it is evident that Maud would not have held Amington,
of her father-in-law's inheritance, unless he had divested him-
self of it in her late husband's favour, which is the point we
desired to make ; while incidentally we learn that Sir William
was right as to her Christian name, and that she survived her
husband.
It is only fair to add that in the same presentment occurs
the entry : —
' Johannes de Clinton pro Coleshull,'
which ought, upon iour theory, to run ' Thomas de Clinton
. . .' ; Thomas the father, whose life estate was secured to
him by the fine, being still alive. A writ upon the Close Roll
of the same year, 5 June, 1276, to the sheriff" of Warwick
directs him, as escheator, to cause Eudes la Zusch and Milisent
his wife, sister and coheir of George de Cantelow, to have
seisin inter alia of the knight's fee that Thomas de Clinton
holds in Coleshull ; and we should at first sight be certainly
inclined to consider that the Thomas of the second entry is
correct and the John of the first is wrong. The question is
really vital, for if John was in possession by reason of his
father's death, a whole superstructure of inference falls to the
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 191
ground, let alone that a quantity of documentary matter
becomes exceedingly difficult of interpretation. That Thomas
was alive in 1276, I have no manner of doubt. Possibly
he may have surrendered his life estate in Coleshill to his
son, or possibly again the jurors by reason of his great age
and retirement may have been the less particular in their
finding. Of these explanations the former is preferable,
seeing that in a document ten years earlier, and by its
nature far more likely to be precise, the ownership is at-
tributed to the son. By charter dated (October) 1265, that
is to say after the battle of Evesham, the king grants to
Roger de Clifford lands late belonging to William de Bir-
mingham, Ralph Basset of Draiton, John de Bracebridge, and
others, and the manor of Coleshull, late of John de Clinton.
How this grant came to be made we need not stay to consider,
for what follows, though it relates to a totally different manor,
will supply the explanation. It will also, I think, suggest that
even this entry on the Charter Roll, with all its presumed pre-
cision, is not conclusive evidence of the actual ownership of
Coleshill, when its forfeiture was threatened.
The proof that Thomas the elder divested himself of
Lydiard in favour of his son Thomas is much more straight-
forward. In consists in the record of a suit brought by his
grandson and heir male presumptive, John de Clinton the
younger, against Osbert de Clinton, the young man's uncle,
third son of the patriarch, and in reality against the patri-
arch, that is to say, against Thomas the grandfather, him-
self.
It is our first notice of a distinguished man, John de Clin-
ton of Maxstoke, usually reckoned as the first Lord dc
Clinton. He was born, if a record which follows is to be
trusted, in or about 1258, and was accordingly, at the date of
these proceedings, two years under age. Thus we may ven-
ture to attribute to his grandfather's idiosyncracies with regard
to the disposition of his estate his first and early initiation into
affairs.
The story is perfectly lucid as set out in the pleadings.
Thomas the elder enfeoffed his son, Thomas the younger.
Thomas the younger died, and John, his son, by his guardians,
occupied the premises for half a year. Then Thomas the
elder ejected him and gave the land to his son Osbert. Osbert
held it till tempore guerre, namely in 1264-5, ne to°k the losing
1 92 THE ANCESTOR
side, and the king, as in the case of Coleshill, conferred the
forfeited estate upon one John de Grimestede, from whom
John de Clinton now recovers. The proceedings are entered
on membrane 12 ; the heading which, apparently, should pre-
cede it, is on membrane 13 ; a membrane having, it seems,
at some ancient date become misplaced : —
Assise certificaciones et attingte capte apud Wyntoniam in octabis Sancti Hillarii
anno regni regis Edwardi filii regis Henrici quinto [January-February,
1276-7].
Placita coram rege apud Marlebergh a die sancti Hillarii in XT. dies anno E.
quarto.
Adhuc de octabis et quindena et assisis et juratis apud Marleberge.
Assisa venit recognoscere si Thomas de Clinton senior Osbertus
Wutes. gjjus ejus et j^m^ (je Grimestede injuste etc. disseisiverunt
Johannem filium Thome de Clinton junioris de libero tenemento suo in Lyde-
yard Milisent post primam etc. Et unde queritur quod disseisiverunt eum de
uno mesuagio tribus carucatis terre .xxx. acris prati. centum acris bosci. cum
pertinenciis Et Thomas et Osbertus non venerunt. et non sunt attachiati quia
non sunt inventi. Ideo capiatur assisa versus eos per defaltam.
Et Johannes de Grimestede qui tenet predicta tenementa. venit et dicit.
quod non intravit predicta tenementa per disseisinam set dicit quod predicta
tenementa aliquo tempore fuerunt predict! Osberti qui tempore guerre fuit
contra dominum regem propter quod idem dominus rex contulit tenementa
ilia ipsi Johanni. Ita quod non habuit ingressum in eisdem per disseisinam immo
per vicecomitem et preceptum domini regis. Et quod ita sit ponit se super
assisam.
Et Johannes filius Thome dicit quod predictus Thomas pater suus obiit
seisitus in dominico suo ut de feodo de predictis tenementis et ipse post mortem
predict! Thome statim intravit predicta tenementa ut filius et heres et quod
exstitit bona et pacifica seisina. quousque predicti Thomas de Clinton et alii
ipsum injuste etc. Et de hoc ponit se super assisam.
Juratores dicunt super sacramentum suum quod predicta tenementa aliquo
tempore fuerunt predicti Thome de Clinton senioris et quod ipse Thomas
feoffavit de eisdem quemdam Thomam filium suum patrem predicti Johannis.
tenendum eidem Thome juniori et heredibus suis de predicto Thoma seniore
et heredibus suis inperpetuum. Et quod predictus Thomas junior obiit seisitus
in dominico suo ut de feodo de eisdem tenementis. Et predictus Johannes
filius suus statim post mortem patris sui intravit predicta tenementa ut filius et
heres. Et postea predictus Thomas senior ipsum Johannem de eisdem ejecit
et dedit eadem tenementa predicto Osberto. qui ea tenuit usque ad tempus
guerre. Et quia predictus Osbertus fuit eo tempore contra dominum regem.
idem dominus rex. dedit predicta tenementa predicto Johanni de Grimestede.
Et quia compertum est per assisam quod predictus Thomas de Clinton feofavit
predictum Thomam filium suum de predictis tenementis per quod feofamen-
tum idem Thomas filius exstitit inde in bona et pacifica seisina. toto tempore
vite sue post cujus mortem predictus Johannes filius predicti Thome filii. fuit
in seisina de predictis tenementis. per custodes suos per dimidium annum et
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 193
amplius quousque predictus Thomas pater ipsum injuste disscisivit. Et postea
feofavit predictum Osbertum filiura suum. per cujus forisfactum tempore guerre
dominus rex contulit predicta tenementa predicto Johanni de Griraestede. Ideo
consideratum est quod predictus Johannes filius Thome junioris recupcret
seisinam suam de predictis tenementis versus predictum Thomam seniorem per
viam recti. Et Thomas in misericordia. Et idem Johannes filius Thome
junioris in misericordia pro false clamore versus predictum Johannem de Grime-
stede perdonatur per justiciaries.
Cor am Rege Roll, No. 20, m. 12.
Thus John recovered. In the following year he succeeded
to whatever else his grandfather had seen fit to leave otherwise
undisposed.
The inquisition, taken in Leicestershire, upon the death of
Thomas de Clinton the elder, with its extremely valuable dates
for the pedigree, does not seem to have been utilized, at any
rate in Dugdale's account of the family, though he refers to
the proceedings by which its findings were traversed. In sub-
sequent inquisitions of later reigns, one of the advantages is
that the date of death is always given, or rather, in writs of
later date, the day of death is one of the heads of inquiry ;
and as a rule several, and different, days are given in reply.
In the present instance we are not informed on what day
Thomas de Clinton died ; but in all other details the docu-
ment is rich ; and seeing that the inquisition is taken upon a
writ of diem c/ausity we may feel sure that no long interval
had elapsed between the death and the date of the inquiry : —
Edwardus dei gratia etc. vicecomiti Leycestrie salutem. Quia Thomas de
Clinton qui de Rogero de Munbray infra etatem et in custodia nostra existente
tenuit in capite ut dicitur diem clausit extremum ut accepimus, tibi precipimus
etc. Teste me ipso apud Turrim London' xij. die Januarii anno regni nostri
sexto [1277-8].
Inquisicio facta fuit apud Leycestriam die veneris proxima post octabas
Purificacionis Beate Marie anno regni regis Edwardi sexto [ll Feb. 1277-8] per
sacramentura Roberti Burdet Hugonis Burdet Radulfi Danvers Roberti Domini
de Brantingesthorp Rogeri Somervile Ricardi Burdet Willelmi de Walecote
Radulfi de Merston Nicholai filii Domine de Essebi Roberti de Flavile Johannis
de Schepe Willelmi filii Alani de Suineford juratorum qui dicunt super sacra-
mentum suum quod Thomas de Clinton tenuit in dominico die quo obiit unurn
mesuagium et octo virgatas terre cum pertinenciis in Olesthorp de Rogero de
Moubray quarum quelibet valet per annum in omnibus exitibus una cum capi-
tali mesuagio predicto .xvj.j. Item idem tenuit in eadem villa redditum libere
tenencium qui reddunt per annum .xij.<f. Et duodecim virgatas terre in ville-
nagio quarum quelibet valet per annum in omnibus exitibus .xvj.j. Et duo
cotagia que reddunt per annum v].s. Et dicunt quod tenuit terram predictam
faciendo predicto Rogero de Moubray servicium dimidii feodi unius militis.
Dicunt eciam quod idem Thomas tenuit in eadem villa de honore Comitii
194 THE ANCESTOR
Wyntonie redditum libere tenencium qui reddunt per annum iiij. d. Et tres
virgatas terre in villenagio cum pertinenciis in eadem villa quarum quelibet valet
per annum in omnibus exitibus .xvj. s. faciendo inde heredibus Wyntonie
servicium duodecimo partis feodi unius militis. Dicunt eciam quod idem
Thomas non obiit seisitus de aliqua terra sive tenemento in comitatu Leycestrie
in dominico suo ut de feodo set dicunt quod tenuit terram predictam et tene-
mentum in villa de Olesthorp secundum legem Anglie per mortem Mazere uxoris
sue de quo procreavit filios et filias. Dicunt eciam quod Johannes filius Thome
de Clynton junioris est propinquior heres predicti Thome. Et dicunt quod est
etatis viginti annorum.
According to this finding, Thomas was simply tenant by
the courtesy, and upon his death the land passed to John, his
grandson and heir, then aged twenty. The king's interest in
the matter consisted in the fact, that not only was John de
Clinton under age, but Roger de Mowbray, of whom the fee
was held, was also a minor and in the king's custody. The
return then, in this particular, is probably correct, and we
get the date 1258 for John's birth.
What does not appear from the return is that the owner-
ship of the land was in dispute. The nature of the dispute
appears by a writ, entered upon the Close Roll, addressed to
the sheriff of Leicestershire, and dated, apparently (February),
1277-8, directing him to keep safe, etc., the manor of Ulles-
torp, which he lately took into the king's hands, by the king's
order, at the complaint of John de Clinton (the younger),
nephew of John de Clynton (the elder), which John de Clyn-
ton (the elder) had demised to Thomas de Clinton, his father,
deceased, for life, to revert, after Thomas' death, to the said
John de Clynton (the elder), and in which the said John (the
elder) had put himself immediately after Thomas' death, as
pertained to him according to the demise, as he asserts. . . .
This is not very perspicuous English ; but the gist of
the matter is clear enough. John, the heir, was fighting another
uncle. Before, it was his uncle Osbert ; this time his uncle
John, who in some way was claiming a title derived from
Thomas and Mazera, his parents, to the exclusion of his
nephew. To clear the matter up the king directed a fresh
inquiry to be held, by a writ in which the contention on
either side is recited. The fresh inquisition, which was taken
accordingly, appears to give complete justice to the uncle's
assertions : —
Edwardus dei gratia rex Anglie dominus Hibernie et dux Aquitanie, dilecto
et fideli suo Ricardo de Holebrok senescallo suo salutem. Quia quibusdam
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 195
certis de causis certiorari volumus utrum Thomas de Clynton et Mazera uxor
ejus per cartam suam feoffaverunt Johannem de Clynton filium eorundem
Thome et Mazere de decem et octo libra tis terre in Ullesttorp que fuit liberum
maritagium ipsius Mazere ut dicitur et ipsum Johannem inde in seysinam posue-
runt habendum sibi et heredibus suis. et idem Johannes in plena pacifica et
diutina seisina inde existens terram predictam postmodum prefato Thome poit
mortem predicte Mazere dimiserit tenendam eidem Thome ad totam vitam
ipsius Thome, ita quod post mortem ipsius Thome terra ilia prefato Johanni
reverteretur, sicut idem Johannes dicit, an predicti Thomas et Mazera, qualis-
cunque carta inde appareat, nullam seysinam dicto Johanni inde fecerint nee
statum suum mutaverint, immo seysinam suam continuaverint usque ad mortem
predictorum Thome et Mazere ita quod predicta terra descendcre debeat
Johanni filio Thome le jeovene primogenito filio (sic) ipsorum Thome et Mazere
tanquam propinquiori heredi ejusdem Mazere, qui est infra etatem, et unde
custodia ad nos pertinet ut dicitur ratione custodie terrarum et heredum Rogeri
de Mundbray infra etatem et in custodia nostra existentis ; vobis mandamus
quod in propria persona vestra ad locum predictum accedatis et per sacramentum
proborum et legalium hominum per quos etc. diligenter inquiratis veritatem
et certitudinem premissorum et eciam de quo vel quibus terra predicta teneatur
in capite et per quod servicium et inquisicionem, etc. Teste me ipso apud
Westmonasterium .v. die Junii anno regni nostri sexto [1278].
Inquisicio facta apud Olvestorp die Jovis proxima post festum Sancte Mar-
garete anno regni regis Edwardi sexto (21 July, 1278) coram Ricardo de Hole-
brok per dominum Adam de Napton, dominum Henricum de Notingham,
dominum Johannem de Folevill, dominum Alexandrum de Harecourt, dominum
Adam de Wheuleslesberg [Wethelesberwe], dominum Willelmum le Wal:ys,
dominum Radulfum de Grendon, dominum Petrum filium Rogeri, milites,
Willelmum de Herdewik, Thomam de Nicole Godefridum de NevUl et Robert-
um de Wyvill. Qui dicunt per sacramentum suum, quod Thomas de Clynton
et Mazera uxor ejus feoffaverunt dominum Johannem de Clynton filium suum
de decem et octo libratis terre in Olvestorp et ipsum inde in seisinam per Gal-
fridum Heuse cum litteris predictorum Thome et Mazere patentibus posuerunt
et idem Johannes per feoffamentum illud per quinque dies seisinam suam
pacifice continuavit capiendo de tenentibus predicti manerii fidelitatem et
diraidiam marcam pro recognicione. Dicunt eciam quod prefatus dominus
Johannes de Clynton post mortem predicte Mazere matris sue dimisit predictas
decem et octo libratas terre predicto Thome de Clynton tenendum ad termi-
num vite sue, ita quod post ejus decessum predicta terra prefato domino
Johanni et ejus heredibus integre reverteretur. Requisiti si predictus dominus
Thomas post predictum feoffamentum in predicta terra sine licencia prefati
domini Johannis intraverit, dicunt quod nunquam intravit, nisi per licenciam
et voluntatem prefati Johannis. Dicunt eciam quod .xxiij. virgate terre de terra
predicta tenentur de heredibus Rogeri de Mounbray per servicium dimidii feodi
militis. Item .xvj. virgate terre tenentur de Johanne de Bosco per »ervicium
quarte partis unius feodi militus. In cujus, etc.
The nephew remained dissatisfied, and further inquiry
is ordered upon a technical point, as appears by the follow-
ing writ : —
Dilecto et fideli suo Ricardo de Holebroc senescallo suo salutem. Quia
196
THE ANCESTOR
inquisicio quam per vos fieri fecimus de manerio de Olesthorp quam Johannes
de Clynton filius Thome de Clynton clamat ad se pertinere racione feoffamenti
quod prefatus Thomas et Mazeria uxor ejus eidem Johanni fecerunt minus
sufficiens est eo quod post seysinam ipsius Johannis per .v. dies quam habuit de
manerio predicto prefata Mazeria diu superstes fuit ut dicitur nee exprimitur
in inquisicione predicta utrum idem Johannes post predictam seysinam quinque
dierum seysinam suam continuaverit in tota vita ipsius Mazerie, et post mortem
ejus, ita quod tanquam rectus et verus [dominus] manerii illius rem ipsam pre-
fato Thome dimettere posset, an idem Thomas et Mazeria se in seisina manerii
illius semper continuaverint et statum suum non mutaverint, vobis mandamus
quod ad certos diem et locum quos ad hoc provideritis vocatis itero coram nobis
partibus predictis [}>er] sacramentum proborum et legalium per quos rei
veritas melius sciri poterit diligenter inquiratis veritatem et certitudinem
premissorum et inquisicionem inde distincte et aperte factam nobis sub sigillo
vestro et sigillis eorum per quos facta fuerit sine dilacione mittatis et hoc breve.
A copy of the previous findings was transmitted with the
above writ : —
Inquisicio facta apud Olesthorp die Jovis proxima post festum sancte Mar-
garete, etc. (as above).
If this writ was executed, the return appears to be lost ;
but that the uncle won the day is evident from an entry on
the Close Roll :—
13 November, 1278. To Richard de Holebrok, the king's steward, to de-
liver to John de Clinton, l8/. a year of land in Olvestorp, as the king learns by
inquisition taken by Richard that Thomas de Clinton, and Mazera, his wife,
enfeoffed the said John, their son, thereof, and that Thomas (sic) had full seisin
thereof by the feoffment aforesaid, and that John, after his mother's death,
demised the same to Thomas for life.
To suppose that John the nephew acquiesced was out of
the question. He bided his time, and began again six years
later. He was now of full age, and in every way a better
match for his uncle. He reopened the case before the justices
in eyre at Leicester in 1284 : —
Placita etc. coram Johanne de Vallibus etc. justiciariis itinerantibus apud
Leycestriam in Octabis Sancti Michaelis anno regni regis Edwardi duodecimo
[ntg
y Johannes de Clynton junior petit versus Johannem de Clynton
seniorem viginti mesuagia viginti et tres virgatas terre tres solidatas et
sex denarios redditus cum pertinenciis in Ulvestorp. Et versus Willelmum de
Berford unum mesuagium et duas virgatas terre et dimidiam cum pertinenciis
in eadem villa de quibus Mazera de Clynton avia predicti Johannis junioris cujus
heres ipse est fuit seisita in dominico suo ut de feodo die quo etc. Et unde dicit
quod predicta Mazera avia sua fuit seisita in dominico suo ut de feodo tempore
pacis tempore domini regis patris domini regis nunc capiendo inde expletias ad
valenciam etc. et inde obiit seitisa. Et de ipsa Mazera descendit feodum etc.
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 197
cuidam Thome ut filio et heredi. Et de ip«o Thoma descendit feodum etc.
cuidam Osberto ut filio et heredi. Et de ipso Osberto qui obiit »ine herede de
se isti Johanni qui nunc petit ut fratri et heredi. Et inde producit sectam etc.
Et Johannes et Willelmus per attornatum suum veniunt. Et Willelmus de
tenemento versus cum petito vocant (sit) ad warantiara predictum Johannem
de Clynton seniorem. Summonetur quod sit hie die dominica proxima po«t
mensem Sancti Michaelis. Et Johannes de tenemento versus eum petito dicit
quod alias in curia domini regis apud Westmonasterium ad impetracionem
ipsius Johannis junioris versus ipsum regem seisivit idem rex predicta tenementa
in manum suam. Et postea coram Radulfo de Hengham et Johanne de Kyrkeby
auditoribus ad hoc per ipsum dominum regem deputatis facta inquisicio [ne]
super utriusque ipsorum Johannis et Johannis jure per eandera inquisicionem et
per consideracionem ejusdem curie reseytusfuit idem Johannes junior de eisdem
tenementis. Et petit judicium si post inquisicionem illam ita sublimiter inter
eos decindentem possit idem Johannes junior ad hujusmodi breve de possessione
retrarere et per illud aliquid recuperare etc.
Et Johannes junior dicit [entry unfinished].
Assize Roll, 457, fo. u.
Not the least interesting side of all these proceedings is
the pedigree that emerges. Here, in the nephew's pleadings,
we discover an entirely new member of the family. John the
younger was not, in the first instance, his father's heir, but
only becomes heir, both to his father and grandfather, by the
death of his elder brother Osbert, otherwise unrecorded. The
case is adjourned ; the defence to the action, apparently, is
that it is res judicata ; but still the nephew persists. To this
date belongs the entry in * Kirby's Quest' (1284-5) for
Leicestershire : c De feodis Mumbray. Johannes de Clynton
tenet unum feodum in Olsthorpe,' referring, I take it, to the
uncle rather than the nephew. ^Finally, in the next year, the
case is compromised for a payment in cash : —
Placita coram domino rege apud Westmonasterium a die Pasche in XT. die*
anno regni regis Edwardi terciodecimo [8 April, 1285].
Warr. Johannes de Clynton dominus de Coleshill miles cognovit hoc
Leyc. scriptum in hec verba.
Omnibus Christi fidelibus presens scriptum visuris vel audituris Johannes
de Clynton dominus de Coleshill miles eternam in domino salutcm. Noveriti*
me pro me et heredibus meis teneri et present! obligari Domino Johanni de
Clynton juniori militi filio Thome de Clynton in ducentis marcis argenti bono-
rum et legalium sterlingorum eidem domino Johanni de Clynton juniori vel suo
certo attornato hoc scriptum deferenti apud Tanworth ad terminos subscripted
solvendis. Videlicet centum libras ad festum sancti Petri ad Vincula anno
regni regis [Edwardi] filii regis Henrici terciodecimo. et quinquaginta marcas
ad festum sancti Michaelis anno regni ejusdem regis Edwardi quartodecimo sine
dilatione ulteriori. Et ad istam solucionem bene et fideliter modo predicta
faciendum me et heredes meos et omnia nostra mobilia et immobilia habita et
198
THE ANCESTOR
habenda ubicunque fuerint inventa esse volo obligari et insuper eidem domino
Johanni de Clynton junior! dominum Radulfum de Hengham ad premissa
omnia fideliter facienda inveni fidejussorem qui se tarn principalem debitorem
quam fidejussorem invenit et qui una mecum omnes expensas dampna et in-
jurias si quas vel que dictus dominus Johannes de Clynton junior sustinuerit
occasione prefate pecunie ad dictos terminos quod absit non solute perficere
manucepit et restaurare. cujus sigillum una cum sigillo meo present! scripto est
appensum. Et ad majorem securitatem hoc presens scriptum. tam coram
domino rege quam justiciariis ipsius domini regis de banco feci irrotulari. Hiis
testibus. Magistro Thoma de Sudinton. Radulfo Basset de Dreyton. Osberto
de Bereford. Willelmo de Bereford. Johanne de Caue. Roberto de Assheborn.
Johanne de Cestria. et aliis. Datam in magna aula Westmonasterii die Mercurii
proxima post quindenamPasche, anno regni regis Edwardi predict! terciodecimo
[n April, 1285].
Johannes filius Thome de Clynton junior cognovit hoc scriptum in
hec verba.
Warr. Omnibus ad quos presens scriptum pervenerit. Johannes filius
Leyc. Thome de Clynton junior salutem in domino sempiternam. Nov-
erit universitas vestra quod cum ego Johannes filius Thome de Clynton junior
inplacitassem Johannem de Clynton seniorem avunculum meum et Willelmum
de Bereford qui ipsum Johannem avunculum meum de tenemento versus eum
petito vocavit ad warantiam et qui ei warantizavit nuper coram Johanne de
Vallibus et sociis suis justiciariis domini Edwardi regis filii regis Henrici
itinerantibus apud Leycestriam termino Sancti Michaelis anno predicti
regis Edwardi duodecimo incipiente terciodecimo [Oct.-Nov. 1284] de
viginti et uno mesuagiis. viginti et quinque irgatis terre et dimidia et
tribus solidis et sex denariis redditus cum pertinenciis in Ulvesthorp
quod quidem placitum prefati justiciarii post modum adjornaverunt coram
eis in itinere suo in comitatu Warwici. Et postmodum coram justiciariis
domini regis de banco; concordat! sumus sub hac forma, videlicet quod
ego predictus Johannes de Clynton junior ratifico seisinam predicti Johannis de
Clynton avunculi mei de omnibus tenementis que idem Johannes habet vel
aliquis nomine suo in manerio de Ulvesthorp unde aliquod jus michi competere
posset ratione Thome de Clynton avi mei vel Mazere uxoris ejus avie mee. Et
recognosco omnia predicta tenementa in manerio et villa de Ulvesthorp esse jus
ipsius Johannis de Clynton senioris ut ilia que habet de dono predictorum
Thome de Clynton avi mei et Mazere uxoris ejus avie mee et concede quod pre-
dictus Johannes de Clynton senior avunculus meus et heredes sui habeant et
teneant omnia predicta tenementa in predictis manerio et villa cum omnibus
suis pertinenciis de me et heredibus meis per homagium et servicium unius
denarii ad Natale Domini reddendi pro omni servicio seculari exaccione et
demanda. Et ego Johannes de Clynton junior et heredes mei omnia predicta
tenementa cum omnibus suis pertinenciis sicutpredictum est predicto Johanni
de Clynton seniori avunculo meo et heredibus suis vel suis assignatis contra
omnes homines warantizabimus acquietabimus et defendemus inperpetuum.
Et preterea remisi et quietum clamavi de me et heredibus meis omnibus
libere tenentibus predicte Johannis de Clynton avunculi mei totum jus et
clamium quod habui vel aliquo modo habere potui in omnibus terris et tene-
mentis que iidem tenentes predicti Johannis de Clynton avunculi mei de ipso
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 199
tenent in predictis manerio et villa. Ita quod nee ego nee heredes mei nee
aliquis in nomine nostro aliquod jus vel clamium in predictis tenementis que
iidem tenentes de predicto Johanne avunculo meo tenent. seu serviciis eorun-
dem decetero habere vel vendicare possimus inperpetuum. Salvo tamen michi
et heredibus meis homagio et servicio unius denarii per annum ut predictum
est. Et ad niajorem securitatem presens scriptum inrotulari feci tarn coram
domino rege quam coram justiciariis domini regis de banco. Hiis testibus.
Dominis Radulfo de Hengham. Osberto de Hereford. Willelmo de Hereford.
Roberto de Assheburn. Johanne de Kane. Johanne de Cestria et aliis.
Coram Rege Roll, No. 91, m. I ; see alia No. 90, «. 6.
A further readjustment of the relations of uncle and
nephew was effected three years later, and, as in the case of
Ullesthorpe, so in the case of Coleshill, their positions as tenant
and overlord respectively were clearly defined : —
Placita coram rege apud Westmonasterium a die Pasche in xv. dies anno regni
regis Edwardi Sexto decimo.
Ad hue de Tribus septimanis Pasche [28 March-17 April, 1288].
,,. , Johannes de Clinton senior attachiatus fuit ad respondendum
Milisente de Monte Alto de placito quod cum de feodis militaribus
que fuerunt Georgii de Cantilupo defuncti qui de rege tenuit in capite dominus
rex assignaverit predicte Milicente sorori et alter! heredum ipsius Georgii in
perpartem ipsam Milisentam inde contingentem quedam feoda militaria in
balliva tua Inter que dominus rex assignaverit predicte Milisente unum feodum
militis quod predictus Johannes tenet in Coleshull etc.
Et Johannes senior venit et dicit quod tenet predictum manerium de Coles-
hull cum pertinenciis de Johanne de Clinton juniore qui quidem Johannes
junior presens est et cognoscit quod predictus Johannes senior tenet de eo
predictum manerium de Coleshull et quod libenter respondebit predicte Mili-
sente de predicto feodo pro predicto Johanne seniore. Et quesitus per quod
servicium tenet de ipsa Milisenta predictum manerium, qui dicit quod clamat
tenere predictum manerium de ea per servicium dimidii feodi militis. Et dicit
ulterius quod Thomas de Clinton pater ipsius Johannis Senioris tenuit predictum
manerium de Willelmo de Cantilupo communi antecessore Johannis de Hasting'
et predicte Milicente per idem servicium et profert quandam cartam ipsius
Willelmi de Cantilupo que hoc idem testatur. Et cum de feodis militaribus que
fuerunt Georgii de Cantilupo defuncti qui de rege etc. dominus rex assignaverit
predicte Milisente sorori et alteri heredum ipsius Georgii quedam feoda mili-
taria, inter que predictus Johannes senior tenet unum feodum militis, ut
dicitur. Preceptum est vicecomiti Warr", quod summoneat predictum
Johannem de Hasting', quod sit coram rege a die sancti Michaelis in xv dies
ubicumque etc. una cum predicta Milisenta, cui idem dies prefigitur, ostensuri
si quid sciant dicere contra tenorem carte predicte.
Postea die Lune proxima post festum Apostolorum Philippi et Jacobi anno
regni regis nunc septimo decimo [2 May, 1289] venerunt tam predicta Mili-
centa quam predictus Johannes de Clynton junior, set predictus Johannes
de Hasting' particeps ipsius Milicente non venit, et habuit diem a die Pasche
in xv dies anno predicto. postquam summonitum fuit. Et predicta Milicenta
200 THE ANCESTOR
nichil dicit nee dicere scit contra tenorem predicte carte, et cepit homa-
gium predict! Johannis de dimidio feodo militis. Ideo habeat recuperare
versus predictum Johannem de Hasting* de quarta parte unius feodi militis
etc. Coram Regt Rolls, No. no, m. 17 ; see also roll No. 108, m. 21.
The utmost confusion has, very naturally, been occasioned
by the existence side by side in the county of Warwick of the
uncle and nephew, both called John de Clinton ; and the
editor of the Parliamentary Writs confesses in a rare note that
he had called a genealogical expert into consultation to dis-
tinguish between them. It has seemed worth while accord-
ingly to set out some of the evidence for this part of the pedi-
gree at full. That it is convenient, in order to understand the
descent of the lords Clinton, to reckon with the line of Clinton
settled at Coleshill, appears finally from the odd circumstance
that the inquisition taken on the death of the uncle is univers-
ally referred, following Dugdale's lead, to the nephew. John
de Clinton, the nephew, was living 5 August, 1309 ; he was
dead before 7 January, 1310-1, when certain payments due
to the king were remitted to his executors. John, the uncle,
survived him by several years, and the following inquisition,
with which we must take leave of the Coleshill branch of the
family, refers to him : —
Writ to the escheator citra Trentam ; whereas ' John de Clynton, senior, qui de
nobis tenuit in capite, diem clausit,' etc. 13 March, 9 Edward 2 (1315-16).
Inquisition taken at Coleshull, 15 April, 9 Edward 2 (1316). John de Clyn-
ton, senior, was seised in fee at his death of the manor of Coleshull, held of John
son and heir of John de Clinton of Maxtok, who is under age, and was in the
custody of the earl of Warwick [Guy, earl of Warwick, died 10 August, 1315],
and is now in the custody of the executors of the said earl, by reason of the manor
of Amynton, by service of id. yearly and of half a knight's fee for all service.
Which John, son and heir of John de Clinton of Maxtok, holds the said manor
of Coleshull of William la Zousch of Haryngworth, as parcel of the barony of
Cantilupe, by service of half a knight's fee. There is there, etc.
The said John de Clynton, senior, held no other lands of the king in chief in
fee the day he died, neither ... of the said earl of Warwick, deceased, nor of
any other, except the said manor.
The next heir of the said John de Clynton, senior, is [? John], son of John,
son of the said John, senior, and he was of the age of twelve years on the feast of
St. Peter's Chains, in the year [? abovesaid] (l August, 1315). The said John,
senior, held no other lands the day he died in fee in my bailiwick, except the
lands contained in that inquisition
Inq. post mortem, 9 Edward 2, No. 53.
There is an order entered on the Close Roll, 24 April,
1316, to John Walewayn, escheator this side Trent, not to
EARLY CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS 201
intermeddle with the land of John de Clynton the elder, as the
said John de Clynton held no land in chief. Another entry,
in the same year, is worth noting to complete the pedigree.
2 May, 1316, Osbert, son of John de Clynton of Coleshull,
acknowledges that he owes 2OO/. to John son of John de la
Beche, to be levied in default on his land in Norfolk.
With these data we may venture to construct the following
pedigree. It is remarkable in many ways ; but though the
longevity of the persons mentioned in it is singular, and though
children were born to them at more mature ages than was at
all usual, I do not at present see an alternative to it : —
Thomai de Clinton = Maiera
n. circa I zo6, ob.
1178 act. circa 72
r
IT i,
Thomas de Clinton = Maud viv.
John de Clinton the= Osbert de Clinton
n. circa 1231. Had
at Aming-
elder, n. circa 1236,
»!T. 1177
Lydiard. Dead
ton, 1276
ob. 131; act. circa
before 1264.
79. Had Coleihill
Osbert
ob. s.p.
John de Clinton the younger = Ida
n. circa 1258, ob. circa 1310 I
net. circa 52
John de Clinton =
n. circa 1270,
ob. v.p.
Osbert, son of John
of Coleihill, viv.
1316
John de Clinton William de Clinton John de Cli
: Clinton
n. circa 1300
William de Clinton
earl of Huntingdon
nton, iet. 1 2
"1315, therefore n. circa
1303
Clinton of
Maxitoke
To resume our enumeration —
Thomas de Clinton (IV.) married Maud [Bracebridge]
and had issue : —
John de Clinton (V.), born as we have seen in 1258. I
suppose that he was more than once married ; that his first
wife died without male issue ; and that his children by his
(second) wife, Ida de Odyngeseles, were born when he was
over forty. With Ida came the manor of Maxstoke ; and I
propose, for the sake of the dates, to set out a few particulars
of her parentage, and the subsequent representation of her
sisters, coheirs with her to their father, which are not without
interest.
(To & continued.)
202 THE ANCESTOR
NOTES ON TWO NEVILL SHIELDS
AT SALISBURY
IN one of the windows of the fine fifteenth-century apart-
ment on the New Canal at Salisbury, known as the Hall of
John Halle, are two glass escutcheons, evidently made by the
same designer, which throw a ray of light on the subject, so
ably treated in two recent numbers of the Ancestor? of the
arms of the King-Maker.
These shields are small — 9 inches long and 7^ inches in
width — and the glass, with the exception of one fragment, is
undoubtedly coeval with the hall itself, which was built in
1470 by John Halle, a wealthy wool merchant of the city,
thrice a representative of the borough in Parliament and four
times mayor of New Sarum.
They cannot indeed compare in antiquity and stateliness
with that great series of thirteenth-century glass shields at
Salisbury, figured and described in an earlier 2 number of this
review. The present writer has however made carefully meas-
ured and coloured drawings of these venerable relics, so fragile
yet so enduring, in the hope that the accompanying repro-
ductions, and a few words of description of them, may be not
unacceptable to the curious in such matters.
The first shield is the quartered coat of Richard Nevill the
elder that displays the ensigns of the Salisbury earldom of his
wife's forbears, in which he was summoned to Parliament,
quartering his paternal coat-armour differenced by a silver and
azure label, a shield that indicates with happy precision all the
facts about his personality — the source of his peerage dignity,
the fact that he is a cadet of his house, and his maternal de-
scent from the Beauforts.
It may be remarked that 3 Doyle assigns these arms to the
King-Maker, mistaking the Earl of Salisbury's seal (of which
an illustration is given in Garter Plates * and reproduced in
1 Ancestor, \v. 143 ; v. 195. 2 Ibid. iv. 120.
3 Official Baronage, iii. 588.
4 State Plates of Knights of the Older of the Garter, by W. H. St. John Hope,
plate Iv.
a
•
•J
s.
•2
•
o
-
NEVILL SHIELDS AT SALISBURY 203
the Ancestor1} for that of his son, although what is left of its
legend mentions the owner's possession of Cambrai, a lordship,
according to Doyle's 3 own showing, of the elder, and not of
the younger Richard Nevill.
The glass of this shield is very uneven in quality. Much
of it is perfect in colour, but the two quarters of Montagu in
the middle of the shield have changed to a pinkish yellow,
while the fusils in them have almost lost their colour. Equally
defective is the colouring of the four Monthermer quarters, in
which both field and charge have faded to a pale yellowish
green. The eagles are very tame-looking fowl. The draughts-
manship is quite lacking in that strength of outline and vigor-
ous conventionality which one expects to find in heraldic work
of this period.
The making of the Warwick shield presented to the artist
precisely the same question as to the order of marshalling the
coats displayed for the earl that had proved so difficult of
solution to the engravers of the Warwick seals. The problem
was solved in a manner highly original if hardly satisfactory,
the designer labouring even more painfully than they in his
efforts to set the quarterings aright, and in the result the order
is as remarkable as any mentioned by Mr. Round.
The seven coats are arranged — not in the usual way hori-
zontally with three in chief and four in the foot, but — in three
columns, the two outermost having each two quarters, Beau-
champ over Nevill and Monthermer above Despencer respec-
tively, while the middle is charged with Montagu in the chief,
Clare at the foot, and Newburgh between them.
It would probably have been difficult for the designer to
account for this surprising order, and yet the crudity of the
arrangement seems somehow to be instinct with heraldic
vitality, and the interest of this groping after a system of
marshalling lies for the purpose of these notes in the fact that
it adds one more to the long list of quartered coats of c the
last of the barons.'
The only modern piece of glass in either shield is the
Despencer quarter in this, which is Pugin's work, inserted at
his restoration of the hall seventy years ago. It is totally
without value except as showing how great is the gap between
1 Ancestor, iv. 147.
* Official Baronagt, iii. 242.
204 THE ANCESTOR
the armorial taste and execution of the fifteenth and nineteenth
centuries.
On the other hand the work of the mediaeval craftsman is
full of interest. The way in which the lower part of the
Beauchamp quarter and that portion of the field of Nevill's
coat which appears above the label are combined on one piece of
glass, the curious leadwork of the gobony label, the elaborate
construction of the Newburgh quarter, and the bold leading
of the Montagu and Clare armorials are details small perhaps
in themselves but certainly evidences of a daring ingenuity,
an appreciation of effect and a wealth of dexterity that is truly
admirable.
In the Monthermer quarter the same poverty of design is
observable that has been already remarked in similar quarter-
ings in the Earl of Salisbury's shield.
A conjecture may be permitted as to the probable raison
d'etre of these two escutcheons. If a reason for the inclusion
of Salisbury's arms in John Halle's window may naturally be
sought for in the good citizen's desire to do honour to the
memory of a local magnate, it is perhaps not altogether fanci-
ful to see in his display of Warwick's quarterings a compli-
ment dictated by political expediency.
In the autumn of 1470, while his hall was a-building, the
worthy merchant, mayor of this loyal city and a staunch parti-
san of the house or York, was on the horns of a painful
dilemma. Warwick had just landed at Plymouth and was
pressing hot-foot to London. Edward's throne was tottering,
and when at this juncture the great earl demanded that New
Sarum should furnish an array of forty men Halle's loyalty
and a desire to propitiate the winning side were tugging him
in opposite directions.
It seems to have been his conscientious devotion to the
king that caused the mayor to delay the raising of the troops
as long as he dared, while perhaps it was as a small private sop
to a powerful foe that he placed Warwick's arms in his window.
And it will be admitted that they serve another purpose as a
splendid piece of decoration.
Six months later Warwick and his schemes came to their
appointed end on Barnet field, but this little memorial of him
still survives, carefully guarded by its present possessors, to
delight the antiquary of to-day.
E. E. DORLING.
WHAT IS BELIEVED
Under this heading the Ancestor will call the attention of press
and public to much curious lore concerning genealogy, heraldry
and the like with which our magazines, our reviews and news-
papers from time to time delight us. It is a sign of awaken-
ing interest in such matters that the subjects with which the
Ancestor sets itself to deal are becoming less and less the sealed
garden of a few workers. But upon what strange food the
growing appetite for popular archaeology must feed will be
shown in the columns before us. Our press, the best-informed
and the most widely sympathetic in the world, which watches
its record of science, art and literature with a jealous eye, still
permits itself, in this little corner of things, to be victimized by
the most recklessly furnished information, and it would seem
that no story is too wildly improbable to find the widest cur-
rency. It is no criticism for attacking* s sake that we shall
offer, and we have but to beg the distinguished journals from
which we shall draw our texts for comment to take in good
part what is offered in good faith and good humour.
LORD DENBIGH'S mission to the Pope, followed by
his campaign amongst New England clambakers, has kept
his name before the makers of paragraphs and occasional
notes. Watered by a thousand rills of printer's ink the great
baytree of the Feilding legend has put forth new and strange
foliage, and Lord Denbigh, returning with his honourable
artillerists, has seen the ancestral figure of the Habsburg fore-
father borne at the head of his triumph by a score of eager
journalists.
* * *
One by one the peerages have cast overboard Godfrey,
Count of Habsburg, Laurenburg and Rheinfelden, the last
two syllables of whose territorial title made him, to the
ingenious minds of the seventeenth century, so probable an
ancestor for an old family of Warwickshire squires, that
justice demanded the production of a few of those documen-
tary proofs which in such a good cause were never to seek.
Mr. Round has long since thrown down the Lord Godfrey
from his niche, and given the dust of their idol for a bitter
>» O
ao6 THE ANCESTOR
drink to the priests of the older genealogy, but that the
journalist goes in no fear of Mr. Round is shown by these
paragraphs from a great evening journal : —
As well as being Earl of Denbigh he is Count of the Holy Roman Em-
pire. Mr. Anthony Hope must have had the Feildings in mind when he
wrote The Prisoner. They descend from the Royal house of Hapsburg, and
every man Jack of them is christened Rudolf for his first name. Then, too,
he is the eighth Earl of Desmond.
He has not the remotest kinship with the old Geraldines, who were Earls
of Desmond, the great enemies of the Butlers, Earls of Ormonde. The title
passed to George Feilding, because James I. decided that it should, and that
was all about it. The Feildings were a long-lived race. One of Lord Den-
bigh's ancestresses died at the age of no through falling out of an apple
tree which she had climbed. The Geraldines had a habit of getting killed
off earlier.
Here we have the legend with new and pleasantly coloured
frills. The house of Habsburg, indeed, called itself some-
thing more than c Royal,' but the countship of the Holy
Roman Empire is handsomely confirmed to Godfrey's de-
scendants. The house of Reuss in memory of its descent
from Henry the Fowler christens each of its children Henry
to the sorrow of the careful editor of the Almanack de Gotba,
and it may be that Rudolf is the font name of each Feilding,
but the peerages show only the present earl, his father and
his heir as commemorating in their names the ingenuity of
the Rev. Nathaniel Wanley, the family pedigree-maker. The
Desmond note is a valuable tag to the legend, and more
work for the genealogical inquirer is suggested, for if we
allow that the Earl of Denbigh has ' not the remotest kinship '
with the old Geraldines, who were Earls of Desmond, how
comes it that they reckon as an ancestress the venerable
Katherine, wife of Thomas, the twelfth Geraldine Earl of Des-
mond, whose age at death is taken for 104 years or 140 by the
retailers of varying tales ?
* # #
From the column enriched by the Feilding legend we take
the following : — •
Sir John Burgoyne, who is to be married next month to Miss Kate
Gretton, is in his seventy-first year, and has been a widower for the last eight
years. He is the tenth baronet, and the last of his line, there being no heir.
Sutton Park, near Potton in Bedfordshire, is supposed to have belonged to
WHAT IS BELIEVED 207
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who gave it to an ancestor of the present
holder in the following rhyming deed of gift :
I, John of Gaunt,
Do give and do graunt,
Unto Roger Burgoyne,
And the heirs of his loin,
Both Sutton and Potton,
Until the world's rotten.
The Burgoynes were greatly enriched by the dissolution of the monasteries,
the Robert Burgoyne of the time being prominently associated with the work.
That John of Gaunt meant his gift to endure is shown, not
only by the limitation ' until the world's rotten,' but by his
abandoning the English of the fourteenth century in favour o.
the language of a later period, more easily understanded of the
twentieth century — the spelling of ' graunt ' being a concession
to the susceptibilities of Wardour Street. The rimed grant
is one of a well known group. Edward the Confessor gave
the keeping of a forest by such another grant, and William the
Conqueror soon accustomed his Norman tongue to a form of
verse which John of Gaunt made use of in more than one
deed. Each grantor was careful to frame his verse after a form
which would make it intelligible to the English journalist of
after ages, and it is great pity that not an original document
remains of the series.
* * *
In the Burgoyne case the public records supply to the
injury of the legend the ' niggling criticism ' denounced by
those who do not love the Ancestor in their hearts. When the
aid for knighting the king's son was collected in Bedfordshire
in 1346, c Sutton and Potton ' are lands of the Latimers, and
on the collection of the king's subsidy of 1428 Thomas
Swynford has come into possession of William Latimer's
lands there, not having the fear of John of Gaunt's charter
before his eyes, and unmoved by the beauty of the verse or by
the rights of Sir John Burgoyne's ancestors who may well have
sung it indignantly at his gate.
* * *
Another evening journal tells us that there is ' much unin-
tentional humour in the history of national flags,' for ' the
venerable gentleman who first designed the English flags which
bore a lion on it, got mixed in his facts and outlined a leopard
208 THE ANCESTOR
instead of a lion, and upon the continent the leopard was
regarded as the English emblem.' If the first designer of the
' English flag ' outlined a leopard thereon, how can an earlier
flag have borne a lion ? Our paragrapher it is who is ' mixed
in his facts.' The lion and leopard difficulty of the inquirer into
questions of armory is easily explained. In the middle ages a
lion who in shield or banner showed his full face was hailed as
a leopard, and three leopards the banner of England has borne,
and still bears, for all those who have not been taught by the
post-medieval armorists to describe the national beasts as ' lions
passant guardant in pale.' Therefore the unintentional
humour, although of no sparkling quality, lurks rather
amongst the verbal crudities of the paragrapher.
* * *
At a time when even the most serious of our halfpenny
journals must find space to record the commands of fashion,
many of our readers must find lacking in the Ancestor the
column which should speak of toques and ermine stoles. But
if these things be outside our view, we may at least warn our
readers that a Norman origin is becoming ddmodL Anglo-
Saxon ancestry will be worn during the present winter.
* * *
Fiction in this matter is a sure guide. Mr. Richard
Whiteing's Tellow Van introduces us to a moated house lined
with black oak to contain a family whose pedigree is sketched
on the bold lines of the earlier novelists. This family had
been snug in its moated home since King Alfred's day,
flourishing in the unbroken male line. In this ancientry the
old squire and his daughter had an honest pride of their own,
but they accepted it without wondering at a family tree beside
which that of the oldest family outside their moat is a young
thing. The moat was deep and wide, as it might well be,
seeing that at its limits the English law had stayed, the squire's
ancestors having to a seemingly modern period possessed
absolute power of life and death over their vassals. ' Every
lord of a manor his own judge, jury and executioner,' the squire
would say, modestly refusing to recognize the rare character
of his family privileges. This modesty follows him as he
points out to the duchess his amazing heirlooms, which include
' a suit of Saxon armour, all steel, and all made in the place,'
and for this too he has no wonder. In the outer world a
WHAT IS BELIEVED 209
king's armoury possessing a complete suit of plates of the
fifteenth century would be raised by it to the first rank of
collections. A suit of the fourteenth century might be sought
in vain by an oil king or trust lord, and as the helm and
byrnie which equipped an Anglo-Saxon for war can hardly
carry the name of ' suit ' the moated house must lie in im-
minent danger of a sudden foray of eager amateurs from the
Kernoozers Club.
* * *
Mr. SpoflForth the cricketer is by his own confession an
Anglo-Saxon. The Spofforth muscles, now peacefully em-
ployed in the exercise which the sporting journalist loves to
describe as ' wielding the willow ' were developed by Gamelbar
de Spofforth, one of those Anglo-Saxon heroes whose active
resistance of Duke William staggered humanity after the mild
fashion in which humanity might be staggered in the callous
days before the blessings of a popular press. The Spoffbrths
would have owned Spofforth to this day had not Duke William,
in his resentment against a gallant foe, given it to one William
de Percy, a foreign upstart from whom, as Mr. Spofforth believes,
one of our ducal houses descends. Mr. Spofforth has all the
caution of the true genealogist. The descent of the Percys of
Northumberland may be a pedigree maker's figment, the
descent of Spofforth from Gamelbar de Spofforth is all that he
can vouch for.
* * *
Domesday is appealed to for evidence of the ancestor's
doings, but in yielding the milk of legend Domesday is a
grudging cow. We find that Gamelbar held Spofforth in
King Edward's time, but Domesday students will hardly ex-
pect to find him with his surname of ' de Spofforth,' seeing
that surnames were neglected under King Edward. And had
Gamelbar drawn a surname from his manor after the fashion
of later days, there is no reason why he should have chosen
Spofforth, for Spofforth was but one of his many manors.
» # *
If facts be appealed to, it would appear that the family of
Mr. Spofforth has been found for some two or three centuries
in the neighbourhood of Howden, and from them a New Eng-
land family derives. To connect them with Gamelbar 'de Spof-
forth ' an abbot of St. Mary of York and a prior of Helaugh
210 THE ANCESTOR
have been produced, each with a surname of Spofford or Spof-
forth. But the regular clergy, although often pressed for the
service, make indifferent links in a pedigree. One vow of their
three keeps them from entering the main stream of the line,
and the fact that their surname, as a rule, indicates their birth-
place rather than their family is a more serious difficulty.
Five hundred years, therefore, of the earlier pedigree of
Spofforth must be bridged with the frail plank of a family
legend which probably had its origin in the first half of the
nineteenth century. No Spofforth family is known to the
heralds of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the
family arms are not to be found until Mr. Robert Spofforth ot
Howden, who died in 1830, married a daughter of one
Thurnell or Thornhill of Howden, whose arms the Spofforths
would appear to have assumed. The history of the shield of
Spofforth may be with advantage taken a step further as an
instance of the hopeless confusion of English armories. Why,
it will be asked, did a Thurnell or Thornhill take to himself
this shield which is not one belonging to any family of his
name. The reason is not far to seek. An early roll of arms
ascribes the shield to a knight named Charnell or Charneles.
Charnell miscopied into a modern book of reference becomes
Tharnell. Tharnell takes the shield to himself and Spofforth
helps himself innocently to Thurnell's plunder.
These things being so we feel bound to declare Mr.
Spofforth caught out, and Gamelbar de Spofforth may follow
him to the pavilions.
* * *
Lord Powerscourt is one of the most persistent of our
Anglo-Saxons. His last work reasserts that the Wingfield
family is an ancient Saxon one which held Wingfield Castle
before the Conquest. Now a castle cannot be satisfactorily
held until it be built, and as Wingfield Castle seems to have
been built long after the Conquest, and by another family to
boot, the end of Lord Powerscourt's assertion needs correction.
As for the Wingfield family, the evidences for its antiquity lie
before us in Lord Powerscourt's own printed memorial.
* * *
First in importance come two lines of doggerel to the effect
that
Wynkefelde the Saxon held honour and fee
Ere William the Norman came over the sea.
WHAT IS BELIEVED 211
When we hear the Saxon ancestor bore so improbable a name
as ' Wynkefelde,' we are in no fear lest Lord Powerscourt
should put him in the box to confute our disbelief in him,
nor has the couplet any note of antiquity. A document is
next handed up reciting that the ' noble old building called
Wingfield Castle was the seat of this family before the Norman
Conquest, as appears by an ancient pedigree.' The precious
evidence is labelled « MS. in British Museum,' which is for a
reference as who should say ' Book printed in quarto,' or
' Statement by a gentleman at Peckham.' Another legend
follows which makes King Harold a guest of ' the noble thane
of Wingfield ' before the battle of Hastings ; but Lord Powers-
court does not allow himself to reason that there may have
been a thane at Wingfield, and yet that thane might not be his
ancestor. An inhabitant of Brixton is not by necessity a
descendant of the Saxon Brixi. Finally, ' all authorities agree
that Robert de Wingfield was in possession of the manor of
Wingfield in the year 1087.' Which would serve us better if
all authorities did not agree to conceal their agreement.
* » *
Although its pedigree be disfigured by this silly story of
Saxon ancestry, Wingfield is nevertheless an ancient and
interesting family, although its antiquity does not qualify it
for a place in our series of articles on the oldest English
families. The pedigree might be carried to the thirteenth
century, although we doubt Lord Powerscourt's ability to do
so. A plate in his book of family memorials, wherein the
brass of a Wingfield knight, who by his dress must have
flourished about A.D. 1400, does duty for the Wingfield who
was killed at Flodden in 1513, which is as though a portrait in
the Elizabethan rufF were presented to us for Queen Anne's
Duke of Marlborough, does not inspire us with any respect
for Lord Powerscourt's researches.
* * *
The recent quincentenary celebration of the Battle of
Shrewsbury nourished a crop of the quaintest fictions in the
comments of various periodicals. One or two of these deserve
some notice.
There is a tradition that one proud and valiant Salopian, who went to the
battle of Shrewsbury and never returned, before going locked up his house and
hung the key up in a tall tree before his door. The tree is still pointed out,
but the key, by the corroding effects of five centuries, has become invisible.
212 THE ANCESTOR
Old Parr w£s bred in Shropshire, but according to this writer
he must give place to bold Admiral Benbow (the real hero of
this legend). To have survived Shrewsbury fight of 1403 and
die at last by Du Casse's chain-shot in 1 702 is an honourable
record of long service.
# * #
A member of the old Shropshire Sandford family commu-
nicated to the press a long paragraph entitled 'The Sandford
family and the Battle of Shrewsbury,' reiterates the enduring
fiction of the Sandfords that ' Sir Thomas de Sanford, or
Saundford,' the alleged founder of the family, came over with
the Conqueror and fought at Hastings. But at Domesday
one Gerard de Tornai held the manor of Sandford under Earl
Hugh, and it was not until the reign of Henry I. or II. that
the Sandfords became tenants in chief of this manor, which
their descendants hold to-day. So long a pedigree, one would
imagine, is none the better for a gingerbread Norman ancestor
to head it.
* * #
Another fictitious statement is that one 'Sir Richard Sandford
was a knight-banneret and one of the body-guard of the king,'
and that he was * slain on the battlefield where he had recently
been created a knight-banneret.' A Richard Sandford was
indeed slain at the Battle of Shrewsbury, but the statement
that he was a knight-banneret and one of the king's body-
guard is merely decorative detail in the manner of the older
genealogists. The contemporary Annales Henrici IV. give a
list of nine persons who were knighted on the battlefield of
Shrewsbury, but the name of Richard Sandford does not occur
in this list.
* * *
Mr. Robert Jasper More, M.P. for the Ludlow Division of
Shropshire, and a squire of a very old Shropshire family is
lately dead and the undoubted antiquity of the More family is
being mishandled by the newspapers in this wise : —
The More family derives its name from the parish of More, near Bishop's
Castle. Thomas de la More came from Normandy with Duke William, and
was killed at the Battle of Hastings, leaving a son Sir Thomas de la More, who
was ancestor of the Mores of More, county Salop.
# * #
Sir Thomas de la More is the familiar Conquest ancestor —
one of those parchment figures with which the field of Hast-
WHAT IS BELIEVED 213
ings has been strown. More is not mentioned in Domesday,
— it was then a member of the manor of Lydham, which was
given to Earl Roger de Montgomery — but it was detached
from Lydham, perhaps by Henry I., and exalted into a tenure
by grand serjeantry. The duty of the lord of More was to
carry the king's standard and lead 200 foot soldiers whenever
the king invaded gallant little Wales. It was from this More
by Lydham that Mr. Jasper More's ancestors took their name,
and by this tenure they held their estate. The earliest known
member of the family is one Adam of the More, who was dead
in 1 1 80, when the sheriff of Shropshire became guardian of
his infant son's estates. From this time the pedigree seems a
genuine one. It is curious that Mr. E. P. Shirley omitted
the More family in his Noble and Gentle Men of England,
though the Mores were a gentle family long before the begin-
ning of the sixteenth century.
* * *
The Christmas season is at hand, but the Christmas num-
bers of the magazines have as yet — alas, this fear of the Ancestor
— yielded us little of the playful archaeology which we have
grown to demand from them. Practised hands may be trusted
to draw for us the Stewart cavalier and the Jacobite squire
without erring notably in the lines of the buff coat and tie-wig.
The medieval gives originality a looser rein. What could
have been better than the mailed knight of last year, kneeling
in the snow without the door, whilst his shriven neighbours
flock to evening service in a church whose every line suggests
comfort and hot-water piping. The true flavour, however,
was in the legend beneath — WITHOUT BENEFIT OF CLERGY. Now
' benefit of clergy ' may be obsolete in law, yet its meaning
of that benefit which a criminous clerk might derive from the
fact of his clergy, should surely be familiar to us still. But
that meaning is forgotten daily by the journalist, and is un-
known even to Mr. Kipling who knows so many things great
and small, else had he not named his story of that marriage of
Ameera which no chaplain had blessed — 'without benefit of
clergy.'
* # *
Our Christmas fiction carries the present into the past with
such assurance that we should read without surprise of the post-
man with his bag of Christmas cards approaching the castle's
THE AXCT
i- r_i rv :
A MONTAGU SHIELD AT HAZELBURY
BfcYAM
A
zi 6 THE ANCESTOR
in the chief. The woman's side of the arms, which happily
is unbroken, is painted on a single slip of glass. The draw-
ing of the charges is fine and vigorous, but the staining is
markedly inferior to that of the other shield.
Its value however lies in the fact that it gives a clue to a
riddle that has puzzled the genealogists, what, namely, is the
maiden name of the wife of Sir Guy de Bryen, lord of the manor
of Hazelbury and eldest son of the lord Bryen, who was knight
of the Garter. Glover's roll assigns this coat to Bures of Essex,
but all that the pedigrees have to tell us about her is that her
Christian name was Alice. It is evidently Dame Alice de
Bryen whom this impaled shield commemorates. Sir Guy,
the last male Bryen, died in his father's lifetime in 1386,
leaving two daughters his coheirs and his wife Alice sur-
viving him. Soon after his death the parish church was
demolished, and in the first years of the fifteenth century the
building of the present church, the third on the same site, was
begun. It appears to have been continued till as late as 1415,
Dame Alice being meanwhile the patron of the living, and
it seems certain that she marked her share in the work by this
shield of her own arms impaled by those of her dead lord.
The problem of the identity of the bearer of Montagu's
quartered coat is not quite so clear. Only two of the earls of
Salisbury bore it, John the third earl and Thomas his son and
successor, and both of them were near of kin to Guy de
Bryen, as this table of their descent shows : —
William Montagu
first Earl of Salisbury
Giijr Lord Bryen = Elizabeth Montagu, widow John Lord Montagu,
I of Hugh Despencer second son I
Sir Guy de Bryen = Alice, living 1415 John Montagu, third
ob. v.p. 1386 Earl of Salisbury,
ob. 1428
Montag
Thomas Montagu,
fourth Earl of Salis-
bury, ob. 1418
Hutchins, the historian of Dorset, boldly asserts that the
arms are a memorial of the fourth earl, but as he states in the
same breath that above this shield is a crest of a horseshoe it
SHIELD OF nit ARMS OK MONTAGU QUARTERED WIIH MOMHEK.MI.K.
A MONTAGU SHIELD
<7
may be doubted whether his dictum is entirely trustworthy.
Earl Thomas was indeed living while the new church at
Hazelbury was in building and it is possible that if family
associations led him to contribute to the cost his arms would
be placed here as a memorial of him ; but his father was Guy's
contemporary, and probability rather points to the third earl as
the person who is indicated by this shield of Montagu.
E. E. DORLING.
EDITORIAL NOTES
WITH a modest pride we note that Sir A. Conan Doyle
has heeded the Ancestors warning. In the 'Author's
Edition ' of his works we find Frank and Maude before
the cross in the station yard at Charing Cross. Frank
no longer remarks that ' the old cross is the same as ever in the
old place,' and the monument has been shorn of its reminis-
cences of mailed knights and heralds who doubled their
honourable office with that of the trumpeter. But repentance
comes slowly to Sir Conan. He has not yet grasped in its
simplicity the fact that the cross in the yard is a modern one.
It is still recommended to Maude's uncritical eyes as ' the
beautiful old stone cross . . . that lovely reconstruction of
Mediaevalism, the pious memorial of a great Plantagenet king
to his beloved wife. Six hundred years ago that old stone
cross was completed. It is a little thing of that sort which
makes one realize the unbroken history of our country.'
* * *
Now it is possible that for Sir Conan Doyle and for Frank
the cross in the cabyard is a lovely thing, and they may easily
persuade Maude to agree with them. But the cross neverthe-
less is not an ' old stone cross.' It is not the Charing Cross
nor does it mark its site. There was once a famous cross at
Charing hard by where King Charles rides to-day with his
eyes upon the windows of the banquetting hall. But that
cross was torn down ages before the South-Eastern Railway
Company embellished its yard with its familiar ornament, and
when Maude is told that the cabstand cross was completed six
hundred years ago she is being deceived for the sake of cheap
sentiment. A more unhappy illustration of the unbroken
history of our country can hardly be instanced than this gothic
toy which can recall nothing but an irreparable vandalism com-
mitted long ago in another part of the city of Westminster.
The letter to the editor on the sad subject ofr some archi-
tectural vandalism is unhappily too familiar in the newspaper
218
EDITORIAL NOTES
219
columns to rouse much attention. A circular from our con-
tributor, Mr. Walter Rye, takes a form which should interest
the most callous. Mr. Rye has been at work with his camera
and can show us in picture after picture the wicked work which
is being done at Norwich. The vandals against whom he
takes up his tale are the Dean and Chapter of Norwich. These
gentlemen hold in trust for Norwich and for England the great
cathedral, and with them the municipal authorities are arraigned
by Mr. Rye.
# * *
The tale is as sad as it is old. The English people, pro-
fessing itself enamoured of the ' quaint,' the ' picturesque,' the
' old-fashioned,' has never a word or a vote to throw against
the maiming or destruction of national memorials. Mr. Rye's
photographs take us through Norwich and show us what is
being done in the famous old town. We see the ancient flint
wall which for five or six centuries has enclosed the Lower
Precinct cast down to make way for a row of red-brick villas,
of the mean type which trails along our suburban roads, which
villas will make the new foreground for the view of the
cathedral. Times are hard, it will be said, and deans and
chapters must sacrifice beauty and fitness if need be for new
sources of revenue. But Mr. Rye is at hand to assure us that
the price of this vandalism is six poor ground rents of five-and-
twenty shillings apiece. The dean and chapter must be in
desperate case, but is it inconceivable that the town of Norwich
might be willing to pay j£y los. yearly to be spared such an
eyesore ? The Dean of Norwich is, we understand, a vice-
president of the local archaeological society. His president
and brother vice-presidents might do worse service for archas-
ology than by persuading him to remonstrate with his tenant
who uses the ancient wall of the precinct as a base for an ad-
vertisement hoarding. A photograph of a factory which has
risen next to St. Andrew's gives us a fair example of the in-
jury which an unchecked individualism allows any single
citizen to inflict upon his fellows.
* * #
The old churchyard wall of St. John Sepulchre has been
destroyed for no better reason than that the incumbent or his
wardens prefer the modern note of an iron railing of a stock
pattern. The guardians of Tunstead Church out in the
220 THE ANCESTOR
country beyond Norwich are with them in regarding an old
and picturesque churchyard wall as an unseemly thing, but
differ from them in considering something in stucco with
sharply marked angles as the best substitute.
Mr. Rye's last word is spent against the winged Peace
with Victory which is soon to make its bronze or brazen
protest against the quiet lines of the Norwich streets. Here
he will have few with him, for though as a nation we possess
one statue which pleases the eye, as that at Charing Cross, to ten
thousand which grieve and vex the passer by, we have never
lost the faith that to add to the number of these sombre figures
is a pious work. A wet day in London would lose half its grim-
ness were there no statues dripping rain from trousers or toga,
yet the newspapers tell us that Cripplegate will disgrace itself if
it cannot raise the money to pay for a dismal idol which shall
call up a shuddering remembrance of its late parishioner, Mr.
John Milton.
* * *
A correspondent — THEMIS by signature — is moved by Mr.
Phillimore's assertion that his Majesty's judges support with
their decisions Mr. Phillimore's views upon armory, to point
out to us that his Majesty's judges are found amongst the
lawless ones denounced by Mr. Phillimore. In three places
within Lincoln's Inn — the chapel, the hall and the old hall —
may be seen the arms of Sir Vicary Gibbs, treasurer of the
Inn and Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, placed
there by formal resolution of the Bench. This shield of
silver with three battle-axes of sable can hardly have received
official sanction, as it is one to which the Lord Chief Justice
could certainly have made no valid claim. But although this
is but one amongst many such blazons in the halls and chapels
of the Inns of Court, Mr. Phillimore would do well to
hesitate before he persuades an officer of arms to accompany
him in a visitation of the offending shields. For the law of
England is in the hands of these ermined outlaws, and the
law of England in practice has added to the ancient and
unchallenged right of an Englishman to assume arms by his
own motion the permission to use his neighbour's arms if he
prefer them.
EDITORIAL NOTES 221
In 1896 Mr. George Tudor Sherwood, a record agent and
expert in genealogy, began the useful publication of a little
monthly magazine for advertising genealogical difficulties and
recording memoranda of family history. Mr. Sherwood
found little help in his venture, which soon came to an end,
as its editing encroached upon the time at his disposal. But
many genealogists to whose notice Genealogical Queries and
Memoranda never came may be glad to know that the sets of
the magazine, which can still be obtained from Mr. Sher-
wood,' contain several indices and memoranda of great value
to enquirers. Thus we have a list of the pedigrees contained
in nine MS. volumes now in the Tyssen library at Hackney.
Another useful list is of those pedigrees compiled by Sir
George Nayler, late Garter King of Arms, which are to be
found in a collection of private Acts of Parliament in the
Guildhall Library. Lists of genealogies follow from the MS.
collections of Glover, Edmondson, Hasted, and a good index
makes many hundreds of pedigrees accessible to the searcher.
1 Mr. Sherwood's address is 50, Beecroft Road, Brockley, S.E.
222 THE ANCESTOR
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
FIFTEENTH CENTURY ARMS
SIR, —
The curious blazon of Thomas Metford's coat1 in the
October instalment of ' Fifteenth Century Arms ' suggests
that while this shield may be a variant of the arms of Metford
its description is possibly due to a piece of careless tricking
on the part of the compiler of the roll. For another and
better known Metford, Richard to wit, Bishop of Chichester
from 1390 to 1396, and then of Salisbury till his death in
1407, bore for arms dancetty of four pieces gold azure gold
and sable.
This shield with the original colouring still plainly visible
upon it is boldly sculptured on the bishop's monument in
Salisbury Cathedral. The monument consists of an alabaster
altar tomb with the effigy of the bishop on it, covered by an
arched canopy. In the spandrels of the canopy are four
shields of arms : Metford's own coat ; the shield of the dio-
cese of Salisbury ; the arms attributed to Edward the Confes-
sor, intended, it may be presumed, as a reference to Richard II.
in whose reign Metford was consecrated ; and the arms of
England quartered with the three lilies of France which had
been assumed by Henry IV. two years before Bishop Met-
ford died. Round the edge of the arch is a finely carved
wreath of martlets and columbine flowers alternately referring
again to King Richard and his successor.
The same portion of the roll gives the
arms of another Salisbury dignitary — Master
Gilbert Kymer, dean from 1449 to 1463.
His signet, of which there are several im-
pressions in the chapter muniments, had a
wolf passant with the dean's initials, ' G.K.,'
above his back carved upon it.
Yours faithfully,
E. E. DORLING.
BURCOMBE VICARAGE, SALISBURY.
1 Ancestor, vii. 213.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 223
DANIEL ARCHER
SIR,—
May I as a reader of the Ancestor ask the assistance of any
of your readers who may be able to help me in the following
matter : —
Particulars of the life, etc., of Daniel Archer.
He was the third and youngest son of Andrew Archer of
Umberslade, co. Warwick, born 1 702, registered at Tanworth,
co. Warwick.
His elder brothers were Thomas, first Lord Archer,
M.P. for Warwickshire and afterwards for Bramber, who
inherited the estate, and Henry Archer, M.P. for Warwick for
many years, who inherited the property of his uncle Thomas
Archer, architect and groom porter, etc.
By the will of his father, proved 1741, Daniel was prac-
tically disinherited, having not more than £100 nor less than
^50 per annum out of the revenues of certain farms ! his
brothers being trustees, to pay the same to him quarterly, be-
cause by his conduct he was unfit to have the management
of an estate !
By his uncle's will, proved 1 743, he has ' ten pounds for
mourning if he cares to wear it,' but has a reversionary interest
in the estate failing his two elder brothers or their heirs male
in the name of Archer. The family in the elder branch failed ;
Henry had no issue ; and Andrew, second Lord Archer, only
daughters, the issue of the notorious Sarah, Lady Archer, the
leading figure in several of Gilray's caricatures on gambling,
etc.
The property at Umberslade, to which was added Henry
Archer's estate, was divided among the four daughters, the
eldest of whom was successively Countess of Plymouth and
Countess of Amherst.
I should be grateful for any information as to this Daniel.
THOMAS LAUNCELOT ARCHER.
83, VINCENT SQUARE, WESTMINSTER, S.W.
JOHN JOHNSTON
SIR, —
The following is taken from Annandale Peerage cases :
John Johnston was born on Sunday, 3 September, 1665,
and was the third son of James, first Earl of Annandale and
224 THE ANCESTOR
second Earl of Hartfell. In October, 1 674, he and his brother
William (afterwards first Marquis of Annandale) went to
Glasgow Grammar School. After that John went to Had-
dington Grammar School, then kept by Mr. Herbert Kennedy.
From there he went to St. Andrews University, and was still
there 8 February, 1685, when he was studying fortification.
His uncle, the Earl of Dumbarton, gave him a commission
in his regiment, where he was converted by the priests, and
was one of the revolting captains. He was imprisoned on a
charge of high treason in May, 1689, and afterwards served
in France with distinction. From 1693 to 1707 he wrote
several letters to his brother William calling attention to his
destitute state. The Duke of Queensberry obtained a full
pardon for him 12 May, 1702. In this year his brother, the
marquis, granted the £10 land of Stapleton to him and the
heirs of his body, whom failing to the marquis and his suc-
cessors in the estate of Annandale. John Johnston died after
1708 and before 1726, and as in the latter year Stapleton is
the property of James, second marquis, John is supposed to
have died without legitimate issue. Many persons however
claim or have claimed to be his descendants. Of these : —
(1) John Henry Goodinge, afterwards Goodinge-Johnstone,
claimed the Annandale honours as great-grandson of
John Johnston by Elizabeth Belcher ; claim dis-
allowed 1844.
(2) In Baltimore, U.S.A., there are several Johnstons who
claim to be descended from Gilbert Johnston, who
they say was third son of the Hon. John Johnston
and Elizabeth Belcher.
(3) James Johnston of Leith (living 1897) asserts that he
is great-great-grandson of John Johnston by a pre-
vious marriage to that alleged to have been made
with Elizabeth Belcher.
(4) Kearsley's Peerage, 1799, mentions 'John Johnson, to
whom the Marquisate, etc., were allowed in 1798.'
This last John is said to be grandson of John
c Johnson ' of Powdean, an alleged son of the Hon.
John.
(5) Lastly, I am told that several Johnstones in the north
of Ireland claim to be descended from him.
EDINBURGH. GEO. HARVEY JOHNSTON.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 225
THE MASSINGBERDS
DEAR SIR, —
In volume vii. of the Ancestor under the history of the
Massingberds of Sutterton, Gunby and Ormsby, it is stated
at page 12, line 13, that 'Mrs. Massingberd's mother was
Catherine daughter of Sir John Armytage, Bart.' I think it
will be round on examination that Catherine was the grmd-
mother of Mrs. Massingberd, the Mrs. Massingberd being
the daughter of William Dobson, alderman of York, who died
in 1749, by Elizabeth Tancred the daughter of Christopher
Tancred, who was married at Hartshead 19 November, 1679,
to Catherine the second daughter of Sir John Armytage, Bart,
of Kirkkes.
Yours faithfully,
GEO. J. ARMYTAGE,
Knutuss PARC, BRIGHOOM.
THE ARMS OF THE KINGMAKER
SIR,—
It may perhaps interest readers of the Amcestar to learn of
the existence of a third deed of the Kingmaker which bean
the armorial seal described in Mr. Horace Round's two
articles and illustrated in the upper photograph facing page
143 of voL iv.
The deed 1 refer to is picseivtd at Hutton John,
Cumberland, the house of my brother, Mr. A. J. Hudkston,
and is one in which the Kingmaker makes a grant of 5/. a year
out of his revenues from Penrith to Thomas c Hoton de Hoton
John * in return for certain services rendered by him to the
Kingmaker of his own free will and so forth. (Hutton John
was held of the barony of Greystoke and had nothing to do
with Penrith.)
The deed bears the Kingmaker's autograph, 'R. War-
rewyk' ; it was given at 'our* casde of Middlrham on
20 August, I Edw. IV. (1461), and the style adopted by the
Kingmaker is ' Earl of Warwick, Lord of Bergavenny, and
Captain of the city of Calais ' : there is no mention of die
Salisbury earldom, although the date is eight months after his
father had been beheaded, which may perhaps mean that the
Kingmaker did not assume the title of Earl of Salisbury until
after his mother's death, and that she was living at a later
226 THE ANCESTOR
date than April 1461 (vide Complete Peerage under Salisbury
and Warwick).
The seal itself has been somewhat knocked about, the
crests, supporters and legend having suffered a good deal ; but
the coat or arms is perfect and is very clear in detail : it shows
a peculiarity in the ermine of the Newburgh chevron which is
not quite clear in your photograph, viz. there is one ermine
tail at the apex of the chevron, three tails on the dexter slope,
but only two tails on the sinister slope. This — which I take
to be an engraver's licence only1 — is on the first quartering of
the fourth grand quarter ; the fourth quartering is interfered
with by the rounding of the edge of the shield. The back of
the seal has nothing but thumb marks.
Ten years later Richard of Gloucester held the King-
maker's manor and castle of Penrith, and he confirmed the
yearly grant of 5/. to Thomas Hutton in another deed, which
is still at Hutton John.
Yours faithfully,
F. HUDLESTON.
WILLIAM FERRERS OF TAPLOW, BUCKS
SIR, —
Might I, a subscriber and constant reader of the Ancestor,
so far trespass on your courtesy and space as to ask if any
of your readers can inform me whether they may have come
across a marriage in the fifteenth century between a Ferrers
and a Bulstrode of Taplow ?
The case stands thus : William Bulstrode died c. 1479,
seised of Taplow, etc. ; and Thomas his son, aged twenty years
and more, is declared to be his heir by inquest taken in 19
Edw. IV.
William Ferrers is in possession of Taplow, etc., c. 1490,
temp. Henry VII.
Who was the father of this William ? He himself married
Sibil, daughter of Thomas Doyley of Chiselhampton in
Oxfordshire. A Thomas Ferrers is also mentioned in the
official documents within the neighbouring districts of Bucks
and Berks — being a juryman at a court held at Cookham in
March 1506 ; and again at a court held there in May 1512.
This Thomas would be a brother, or cousin, of William, as
1 Certainly. — ED.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 227
dates forbid him being either William's father or his son,
another Thomas born c. 1510-20, who bought or redeemed,
the manor of Cookham Lollybrooks, in 1589.
An inquest of i Ric. III. shows that Martin Ferrers of
Great Teynton in Gloucestershire left no male issue, his
brother Henry (aged more than fifty-four years) being found his
heir male. The same inquest shows them to be in direct
descent from John, first Lord Ferrers of Chartley, and his
wife Hawise de Muscegros, who brought that manor into the
Ferrers family. John, first lord, died before 1320-1, since
by that date Hawise had married her second husband.
This shows that Dugdale, who killed off the two barons in
the same year (1324-5), confused John of Chartley with his
cousin William, first Lord Ferrers of Groby ; both of them,
according to his statement, dying in 18 Edw. II.
From the foregoing it would seem that there are two more
brothers of William, sixth Lord Ferrers of Chartley, than were
known to Dugdale, and that the chart should in this part read
thus : —
Edmund fifth Lord Ferrers
of Chartley, ob. 143;
1
T
T
T
1
William sixth
Edmund succeeded
John (according
Martin of Great
Henry born
baron, ob. 1450
his brother, as heir
to Dugdale), ob.
Teynton, ob.
c. 1430, suc-
male, 14.50, ob.
s.p.
1483, s.p.ra.
ceeded to
t.p.m.
manor of
Anne (suojure
Great
baroness ) wife of
Teynton
Walter Devereux
A
The family of Ferrers of Fiddington in Gloucestershire,
whose line of descent does not clearly appear, intermarried
with Ferrers of Baddesley-Clinton (Groby line) in 1592,
and would seem to be descended from this Henry.
But, to return to my point, this William Ferrers of Taplow
must be a cadet of one of the following branches of the family,
Chartley, Groby, Wemme, or Bere-Ferrers. Of the last two,
the first is all but impossible, and the latter scarcely admits
of proof.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
CECIL S. F. FERRERS.
HOLYPORT, BERKS.
228 THE ANCESTOR
ROBERT EARL OF ESSEX
SIR, —
A curious engraving of this nobleman by W. de Clerck
was published in Van Meteren's Memorien Van den Nerderlan-
tsen (1610). His styles there given may be compared with
those in his will on which I commented in the last number of
the Ancestor. In Latin he is styled c Comes Essexiae et Ewe ' ;
in Dutch c Grave van Essex on' Ewe . . . Borchgrave van
Hertfort en' Bourgcher, Heere van Ferres van Chartley, etc.'
J. H. ROUND.
WHITMORE AND THE SWYNNERTONS
SIR, —
As a subscriber from the first to the Ancestor, I crave a
little space to protest against what appears to me an unwar-
rantable assumption in an article by the Reverend Charles
Swynnerton which appears in your current issue. It is not my
intention to criticize this article, except where the writer
attempts to prove that the Swynnertons were in any sense lords
of the manor of Whitmore, or legitimately entitled to be called
« of Whitmore.'
It seems to me impossible for any one who has devoted
the time and attention which have evidently been bestowed on
this article to have overlooked the following facts concerning
the descent of Whitmore.
At the time of the General Survey, one Richard Forrester
held Whitmore together with other lordships. In the reign of
John, some three generations later, according to Testa de
Neville one Ralph de Cnoton (or Knutton) held 36 virgates in
soccage of the Crown, of ancient right in Knutton, Whitmore,
and four other lordships, all veritable members of Richard
Forrester's Domesday fief. Concerning this, Eyton, in his
Domesday Studies for Staffordshire (p. 53), says : ' I cannot doubt
that Ralph de Knutton was lineal heir or coheir of Richard
Forrester, and that Richard Forrester's tenure by sergeanty or
by thenage, if such it was, had been commuted into tenure by
soccage by his descendant.'
From John, brother of this Ralph, the Staffordshire Collec-
tion gives ample proof of the following chart pedigree given
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 229
by Chetwynd, who is acknowledged by Mr. Swynnerton to be
an authority : —
Johannci dom. de =
Whitmore
Johannes de Whitmore = Margareta 6L Rogcri
dom' de Swinnerton
Rad'ut de Whitmore =
Joh'ei de Whitmore =
37 & 51 Hen. III. I
Joh'ei de Whitmore
18 & 31 Ed. I.
Rad'ui dom. dc Whitmore
11 Ed. II. I
Joh'ei dom. de Whitmore = Johanna fil. et coh.
34 Ed. III. & 6 Ric. II. I John de Verdon niil
Eliz. fil. et coh. = Jacobui Boghnjr
1 1 Ric. II. dominui de
Whitmore,
9 & ix Ric. I.
Mr. Chetwynd continues the pedigree to Edward Main-
waring, who married Alicia, the heiress of the Boghays of
(inter alia) Whitmore and Biddulph, which manors are still in
the possession of a direct descendant of the aforesaid Edward.
In the Staffordshire Collection (iv. 97) is mentioned a most
interesting suit concerning this manor of Whitmore, but un-
fortunately the decision is not recorded. Vol. vi. pt. i, 67, 70,
75 explains the connection of the Burgilons with Whitmore,
but throughout the whole collection I can find no single trace
of an official entry connecting the Swynnertons with the owner-
ship of any land in this manor. I would suggest as a more
obvious explanation why none of the kinsmen of Roger lord of
Swynnerton are mentioned in the subsidy rolls of 1327-33,
that they held no lands at that time ; and the suggestion to
account for the paucity of references in the court rolls of New-
castle appears to me rather far fetched.
I do not wish to occupy too much of your space, but I must
suggest that the 'Final Concord' (No. 79) quoted by Mr.
Swynnerton, of which by the way I can find no trace in the
Staffordshire Collection, has been misread by him, and I would
refer him to some one who has a knowledge of the ordinary
usages of the ancient law of conveyancing for the proper
230 THE ANCESTOR
explanation of this settlement. Staffordshire Collections,
vi. 195-291, shows the descent of this manor from the
Whitmores to the Boghays, and from the Boghays to the
Main war ings.
I am, Sir,
Yours faithfully,
G. CAVENAGH-MAINWARING.
JUNIOR ARMY AND NAVY CLUB.
SIR, —
In answer I would remind Mr. Cavenagh-Mainwaring
that the pedigree of the Mainwarings, the Boghays, and the
Whitmores did not fall within my scope. But I should judge
that Mr. Cavenagh-Mainwaring is fairly well informed on that
point. He cannot do better than follow the lead of Chetwynd
and Eyton. For information as to his other difficulties I
must refer him to my article and to volumes vii. and xxi. of
the Staffordshire Historical Collections. He should read them
all over very carefully again.
Only as to one matter would I trespass again on your
space. I mean the story of the homage and service of the
lords of Whitmore in 1313, and the story of the rent of a
white rose to be paid yearly at Swynnerton.
In 1285 John de Whitmore, with several others, contested
the right of Roger, son of Stephen de Swynnerton, to the
manor of Swynnerton, on the plea that they were nearer the
succession than himself. They failed in their action, and in
14 Edw. I., 1286, he and his friends were in misericordia for a
false claim. The case was however re-opened at Michael-
mas, 1286, and again at Hilary term, 1287, by Roger de
Swynnerton in a plea against his opposers for false judgment,
but, evidently by pre-arrangement, he made default and the
case was dismissed. To satisfy John de Whitmore and pre-
vent further litigation, he conferred on John de Whitmore a
certain placea at Shutlane within the fee of Swynnerton, or
rather ' to John and Margaret his wife and the heirs of their
bodies,' reserving to himself however his superior feudal right
by the service from John de Whitmore of a full blown rose
(una rosa florendd) on the Feast of St. John Baptist. This
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 231
Margaret, wife of John de Whitmore, was, I think, Sir Roger
de Swynnerton's sister.
About the year 1300, or soon after, John de Whitmore
demised his manor of Whitmore to his son Ralph, reserving to
himself an annuity from the estate of £10, and the superior
right by the service of one rose (una rosa) also on St. John the
Baptist's Day. Soon after this he probably died.
The annuity of £10 however must have represented
nearly the yearly value of the manor, the full rent of which
was, at any rate, less than £20, because if £20 or more the
Whitmores would have been compelled to take up their knight-
hood, which they never did, but on the contrary went forth
to the wars as squires, as ' Serjeants with barded horses,' or
as mounted archers. The fact is the manor was but a small
one, being only a manor within a manor, a sub-manor of the
manor of Newcastle-under-Lyme. Added to this, much of the
inheritance of the Whitmores had been lost to them. Thus
the Swynnertons then held six bovates of land and a messuage
of theirs in Chorlton, and Roger Burgilon similarly was
possessed of a messuage and thirty acres of land in Whitmore,
while in Butterton, which was or the demesne of Whitmore,
the lords of Whitmore held nothing, for the tenants there held
of Thomas dominus de Stucbe (in Salop) et de Boturton. Moreover
Ralph de Whitmore came into an estate heavily encumbered,
and in 2 Edw. II. 1308, he granted his manor mill, with all its
profits less two pounds (quaraunte soutz), to be allowed to the
said Ralph for each year on full settlement, to Sir Roger de
Swynnerton for twenty years as security for a debt of £40,
which probably represented the whole value of his land. Five
years after, in 7 Edw. II. 1313, matters reached a climax, having
evidently gone from bad to worse, and in that year or the year
before Ralph de Whitmore granted his manor to Sir Roger
de Swynnerton, knight, and his heirs, and on the Sunday
next after the Feast of St. Peter in Cathedra (Feb. 22) at
Swynnerton, by a charter now lying before me, Sir Roger de
Swynnerton granted the manor again to Ralph de Whitmore,
imposing as a condition in satisfaction of his claims that the
manor should be held by Ralph and by the heirs of his body
lawfully begotten, of Roger and his heirs, by the service of
a white rose (una rosa alba] rendered yearly on the Nativity
of St. John the Baptist, and that if Ralph died without such
issue, it should then revert to Sir Roger de Swynnerton, knight,
232 THE ANCESTOR
and his heirs for ever. This arrangement was ratified and con-
cluded by a Final Concord on the Octaves of Easter next
ensuing. Unless then I misunderstand the transaction,
which was something much more than an ordinary Fine
and Recovery, Sir Roger de Swynnerton, knight, by this
arrangement, became mesne tenant of Whitmore under the Earl
of Lancaster, while Ralph de Whitmore retained his manor,
but only as arriere tenant, no longer as mesne tenant. Thus
Ralph de Whitmore gained his land and Roger de Swynnerton
lost the amount of his debt. But he gained the ' white rose,'
and the white rose was worth the sacrifice. And thus it was,
as stated in my article, that the lords of Swynnerton in 1313
became possessed of the homage and service of the lords of
Whitmore. There came a time however when the Whitmores
were to redeem much of that which they had lost, and that
time, I imagine, was in the reign of Richard II., when the last
John de Whitmore made a match with one of the co-heirs of
Sir John de Verdon, knight. But as to ownership, no one
who knows his subject would think of using the word in
that absolute sense at all in connection with feudal tenure.
There was one c owner,' and only one. But if Mr. Cavenagh-
Mainwaring insists on the word, my answer is that the whole
of the free tenants of the realm, even free tenants holding
in villeinage, ' owned ' their lands with just as good a tide as
the lords of Whitmore.
In conclusion, if I am right, and if Mr. Cavenagh-Main-
waring can prove his descent from the old lords of Whitmore,
I mean of course the Whitmores of Whitmore, I have given
him a descent also from a Margaret de Swynnerton of the
time of Edward L, and if Chetwynd be right he can boast a
descent moreover from a Margery de Swynnerton living in the
reign of Richard I. What more can Mr. Cavenagh-Main-
waring desire ?
CHARLES SWYNNERTON.
Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London.
TO BE PUBLISHED SHORrLT.
The History of the King's Bodyguard
of the Yeomen of the Guard
Instituted by King Henry VII. in the Year 1485 under the title ot
'Valecti Garde Corporis Nosfri'
DEDICATED BY SPECIAL PERMISSION TO
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BY
COLONEL SIR REGINALD HENNEL, KT., D.S.O.
LIEUTENANT THE KING'S BODYGUARD OF THE
YEOMEN OF THE GUARD
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after which the right is reserved to raise the price.
The History will consist of : —
I. Brief account of the Bodyguards of the Kings of England
from Canute to Richard III.
II. Creation of the ' Yeomen of the Guard ' by Henry VII. on
or about the 22nd August, 1485.
III. The Guard's first title, its first establishment, the first
Captain and Officers, its original dress, weapons, pay, and
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with detailed accounts of the Battles and Sieges at which
it has been present, and the principal Historical Events in
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V. Historical Roll of the Officers 1485 to 1903, and many
Muster Rolls of the Yeomen at great ceremonies.
These Historical Rolls give the dates of appointment verified from
the actual Warrants in the State Records, and show that upwards of
200 of our oldest families have had ancestors amongst the Officers,
many of whom are renowned in English History.
ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE Gf CO LTD
2 WHITEHALL GARDENS WESTMINSTER
The Church Plate of the
County of Hereford
BY
THE HON. BERKELEY L. SCUDAMORE STANHOPE, M.A.
ARCHDEACON OF HEREFORD, AND HAROLD
C. MOFFATT, M.A.
Demy 4/0. Illustrated. Price 3 is. 6d. net
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This volume is published with the view to furnishing a
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reference, and the name of the Parish is printed under the
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An Inventory of Church Goods in this County, as returned
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2 WHITEHALL GARDENS WESTMINSTER
THE PASTON LETTERS
Edited by JAMES GAIRDNER
Of the Public Record Office
4 vols.y 2 is. net
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SUPPLEMENT MAY BE PURCHASED SEPARATELY
Price ioj. 6d. net
These Letters are the genuine correspondence of a family in
Norfolk during the Wars of the Roses. As such they are altogether
unique in character ; yet the language is not so antiquated as to present
any serious difficulty to the modern reader. The topics of the letters
relate partly to the private affairs of the family, and partly to the
stirring events of the time ; and the correspondence includes State
papers, love-letters, bailiffs' accounts, sentimental poems, jocular epistles,
etc.
Besides the public news of the day, such as the loss of Normandy
by the English ; the indictment and subsequent murder at sea of the
Duke of Suffolk ; and all the fluctuations of the great struggle of York
and Lancaster ; we have the story of John Paston's first introduction
to his wife ; incidental notices of severe domestic discipline, in which
his sister frequently had her head broken ; letters from Dame Elizabeth
Brews, a match-making mamma, who reminds the youngest John
Paston that Friday is ' St. Valentine's Day,' and invites him to come
and visit her family from the Thursday evening till the Monday, etc.,
etc.
Every letter has been exhaustively annotated ; and a Chronological
Table, with most copious Indices, conclude the Work.
HENRT HALLAM, Introduction to the Liuraturt of Europe, i. 128. Ed. 1837 : • Tin
Paston Letters are an important testimony to the progrcsiive condition of Society, and cone in
at a precious link in the chain of moral history of England which they alone in this period
supply. They stand, indeed, singly, as far as I know, in Europe ; for though it is highly
probable that in the archives of Italian families, if not in France or Germany, a series of
merely private letters equally ancient may be concealed ; I do not recollect that any have
been published. They are all written in the reigns of Henry VI. and Edward IV., except a
few that extend as far as Henry VII., by different members of a wealthy and respectable, but
not noble, family ; and are, therefore, pictures of the life of the English gentry of that age.'
THE MORNING POST : ' A reprint of Mr. James Gardner's edition of Tbt Patim
Letters with some fresh matter, including a new introduction. Originally published in
1871-75, it was reprinted in 1895, and is now again reproduced. The introductions have
been reset in larger type, and joined together in one, conveniently broken here and there by
fresh headings. The preface is practically a new one. ... It is highly satisfactory for
readers who care about history, social or political, to have this well-printed and admirably
introduced and annotated edition of these famous letters.'
MANCHESTER GUARDIAN : ' One of the monuments of English historical scholar-
ship that needs no commendation.'
ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE 6f CO LTD
2 WHITEHALL GARDENS WESTMINSTER
The Stall Plates of the Knights of
the Order of the Garter i 348-1485
Consisting of a Series of 9 1 Full-sized Coloured Facsimiles
with Descriptive Notes and Historical Introductions by
W. H. ST. JOHN HOPE, M.A., F.S.A.
Dedicated by gracious privilege during her lifetime to HER
LATE MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA, SOVEREIGN OF THE
MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER.
The edition is strictly limited and only 500 copies of the work
have been printed.
The object of the work is to illustrate the whole of the
earlier Stall Plates, being the remaining memorials of the four-
teenth and fifteenth century of Knights elected under the
Plantagenet Sovereigns from Edward the Third, Founder of
the Order, to Richard the Third, inclusive, together with three
palimpsest plates and one of later date.
The Stall Plates are represented full-size and in colours on
Japan vellum, in exact facsimile of the originals, in the highest
style of chromolithography, from photographs of the plates
themselves.
Each plate is accompanied by descriptive and explanatory
notes, and the original and general characteristics of the Stall
Plates are fully dealt with in an historical introduction.
There are also included numerous seals of the Knights, repro-
duced by photography from casts specially taken for this work.
The work may be obtained bound in half leather, gilt,
price j£6 net ; or the plates and sheets loose in a portfolio,
£5 IQS. net ; or without binding or portfolio, £5 net.
dTHENjEUM : ' It is pleasant to welcome the first part of a long
promised and most important heraldic work, and to find nothing to say of it
which is not commendatory. The present part contains ten coloured facsimiles
out of the ninety plates which the work will include when completed. They
reflect the greatest credit on all concerned in their production.'
MORNING POST: 'There is a fine field for antiquarian research in the
splendid collection of heraldic plates attached to the stalls in the choir of St.
George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, and it will be a matter of satisfaction to all
who are interested in old memorials that Mr. W. H. St. John Hope has given
close examination to these ancient insignia and now presents the results of his
investigations, with many reproductions.'
ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE £> CO LTD
2 WHITEHALL GARDENS WESTMINSTER
The Ancestor
4.10
A6
no. 8
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
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